Professor Layton and the Lady in Yellow
by Tie-grr
Summary: A series of mysterious disappearances of objects to people in the small village of Mespil. Who can help these villagers? Has the Professor finally failed to notice something? There will be a pairing of Layton and Emmy, you have been warned.
1. Setting The Scene

_So, my first ever Professor Layton story. I have fallen in love with him all over again, and the pairing of him with Emmy. And, needless to say, I was greatly disappointed to see the lack of stories out there! So I decided that if I could not read them I shall have to write some for others to read! No need for everybody to be disappointed. _

_I am hoping to get a full on story going, similar to the adventures that would be going on in the games, but with a romance in the background. I am not making any promises, as my track record may suggest I am rather useless at keeping my word. But we can live in hope!_

_Disclaimer: I own NOTHING!_

_Note: Thank you to the wonderful Zilla for the picture now used as the thumbnail. You shall have to read on to find out where it comes from ;)_

* * *

Professor Hershel Layton was a world renowned puzzle solver, Archaeologist, intellectual and, most importantly, a gentleman. But all of these things did not stop him from getting distracted every now and again. It had been a last minute thing, he would tidy away the mess of books that littered his desk before he left his office for the night, surely it was not a difficult task. And it wasn't, if only one did not end up reading a book almost every time he picked one up. The last time he had looked at the clock on the wall it had been twenty minutes past eleven, not an unusual time for him to leave, if he ever did. But at some point he must have fallen asleep because..

"Professor- Oh! I am so sorry, I never thought you might be asleep."

Hershel leapt to his feet in shock, wincing as his eyes were assaulted by the bright morning sunshine. But his assistant's voice filtered through the haze of sleep and he smiled, shaking his head. "Nonsense. It is my fault. I tend to lose track of time when-"

"You have your nose in a book, I know." She grinned at the sight of a sleepy Professor who was retrieving the book that had fallen from his chest in his haste to rise. He politely stifled a yawn as he placed the now closed book down.

"What was it this time?"

"The art of knapping." He raised an eyebrow when she failed to cover her snort of laughter. "Yes, yes, very funny. Crafting flint into tools."

"I know, Professor, but I could not resist. I brought your mail! I knew you wouldn't retrieve it as, yet again, the box was overflowing. Perhaps you should get another assistant, one who just fetches the mail for you and reads it aloud? Then you could dictate responses and you may actually get somewhere with this pile."

"I must say it seems to grow more and more every day." He settled behind his desk, the kettle gently boiling in the background.

"That is because you barely read any of them. You open one or two and get lost in them, forgetting all about the others which then ultimately get lost amongst the mess you call an office."

"I could take offence to that, Miss Altava."

"Well, did you Mister Layton?"

"That's Professor to you, young lady." He laughed gently and chose the top piece of mail she had brought him. "Would you like some tea?"

"Only if you stop calling me young lady, I am not _that_ much younger than you. I shall make it, you get on with that." She nodded to the letter he had just opened and he gently thanked her. He would have one cup of tea, answer his mail and then quickly dash home to clean up. A gentleman did not go around in yesterday's clothes without having washed, oh no.

He was aware that Emmy began speaking to him at some point but her words were not clear to him, he merely heard a noise beside his left ear. His dark eyes quickly scanned the contents of the letter, lifting the page to read that behind it, then handed it to his assistant.

"So sorry to have ignored you Emmy, but I believe we are needed outside of London." He left his seat to grab his black jacket, ignoring the steaming cup of tea that had been placed upon his desk. "A place named Mespil. Come on, we must pick up Luke! Bring the letter, he shall wish to read it."

_Dear Mister Layton,_

_ I hope that this letter finds you well but I am afraid I must do away with all other pleasantries at this time. I am writing you in order to request some help, I am sure this much you have already deducted. Out here in Mespil, the middle of nowhere I assure you, we have heard of your amazing work at Misthallery, not to mention with several other mysteries across the country. My town, well, myself mainly, were hoping you may be able to help us with our own situation._

_It started a few months ago with some minor thefts, nothing particularly large. Our local police force, which unfortunately only consists of three men, did investigate but to no avail. Nobody was arrested for the thefts. The items varied from mundane items to more extravagant silverware taken from our village's eldest family, they do not seem to have any connections. So it was simply passed off as petty thievery and as the occurences soon stopped nobody thought much more on it._

_But a month after the last theft, almost to the day, the local animals started to go missing. Cats and dogs mainly, they would wander off and just never come home. We have very few cars and other means that could cause a sad demise to such creatures so we were all at a loss as to what was happening. It averaged out as an animal a week for around six weeks until, again, it suddenly stopped. _

_Finally, two weeks ago, it started again. But this time it was so much worse. People have gone missing. Nobody can explain it, these people just disappear. They have disappeared from all sorts of locations at very different times, the fourth has now disappeared. Our local police force are struggling to find out what is going on, they are not sure if it is all linked but I am no fool, Mister Layton. Something strange is going on in this town and I know of no other person who could possibly help._

_Please, help our town. We have no idea what is going on._

_Thank you,_

_ Tonetta Merrin_

No matter how hard he tried, he could not resist a good mystery.


	2. Mespil, Here We Come!

"Something strange is going on in this town and I know of no other person who could possibly help.

Please, help our town. We have no idea what is going on.

Thank you,

Tonetta Merrin."

The Laytonmobile trundled along the small country road as self proclaimed apprentice Luke Triton read the letter aloud from the back seat. He had all the space in the world but was still swinging his legs, much to Emmy's disgust. Twice she had asked him to stop kicking her seat and finally the Professor had politely put an end to the petty squabbling. She may have been a grown woman but Emmy Altava could act like a child if she wanted to.

"Do you have any idea what is going on, Professor?"

"No, Luke." Hershel laughed softly from behind the wheel. "I have no idea as to what could possibly be going on. Nor have I ever heard of this town and its inhabitants."

"It's almost completely off the radar. I was lucky to find it on the map!" Emmy had a rather old map laid out across her lap from which she gave the Professor the occasional directional instruction.

"It certainly is quite a way out from London."

"Yes, it seems like we've been travelling for days!" The boy whined and slumped back in his seat. He resigned himself to reading the letter again, his only source of amusement since almost all signs of human life had disappeared outside the window in favour of trees and shrubbery.

"It's not much further, Luke, I promise. And if you dare kick my seat again.."

"Emmy, do I turn left or right?"

"Oh! Right. Then the village should be on our left after a few hundred metres."

There was a sudden shift in their surroundings and it was truly rather eerie. The beautiful green colours had vanished, replaced with murkier, darker shades, speckled with clumps of brown. The green pastures had turned to wetlands and even the air felt like it was dripping wet.

"Well this is certainly a most interesting place." Hershel noted the streams that now ran along either side of the road. "I expect many people have found themselves stuck in there.. The road is very narrow."

"So long as you don't drive us in there, Professor!" Luke now had his nose pressed against the glass, kneeling up on the seat. He was interested in the frogs which leapt from the stream into the undergrowth every now and then.

"I shall try not to." He chuckled gently.

"It's coming up now!" Emmy announced and, sure enough, a battered moss covered wall came into view on their left. The walls were several metres high and would have surely been grand in their day, but they had not been taken care of over the years and were now crumbling to ruin. Not far past the beginning of the curved wall was a gatehouse, this at least was in better condition. The walls had no holes in them.

"What a shame. This place could look absolutely stunning, a living piece of history. Well, as living as stone can be." Emmy laughed.

"This place is rather small to have a wall so high built around it. I am quite surprised, to be honest, it appears Mespil never experienced any form of economic growth since it was originally built, either. I see no expansions to these old walls, unless they are of the wall we cannot see."

Hershel drove into the gatehouse where a guard stopped the car. He looked as though he had not seen a visitor in quite some time but politely tipped his hat when he dipped to talk.

"Business here in Mespil?" The guard asked gruffly but he had a smile on his face.

"We are here to see Ms. Merrin. She sent me a letter, I am Hershel Layton."

"_Professor_ Layton! And I am his apprentice!"

"Luke, ssh."

"Professor Layton, eh? Well, Ms. Merrin did not mention anything about visitors but, what harm can it do?" He laughed, a hoarse bark of a sound. "My name is Madigan and let me welcome you to Mespil. Can I ask that you leave your car just within the village gates, most villagers don't like the things. I hope you enjoy your stay!"

The strange man snapped upright and saluted them. Hershel smiled warmly and rolled up his window before doing as asked by the guard.

"What an odd man. He looked terrifying, sounds it too. But he is utterly pleasant."

"You cannot judge a book by it's cover, Luke. Mister Madigan must be one of the three policemen that Ms. Merrin mentioned. If one works the gate, leaving two in the village, they must experience very little crime."

"Well, this place is tiny, Professor, I'm sure all the families have known each other for years and years." Emmy folded up the map and placed it into the glove compartment.

The Laytonmobile was left with four other cars, standing out as unique due to it's higher roof. The first thing that assaulted them was the distinct fishy smell that seemed to cut through the murk of the surrounding area, creating an odd but not entirely unpleasant aroma.

"I think we can assume that the village has a fair few fish."

"Smells like more than just a fair few, Professor. This place stinks!"

"Now, now, Luke. It does not stink." He gently scolded and lifted his hat a little. "First we should locate a hotel, then we can find Ms. Merrin. I am sure the owner can help us."

As they travelled further into the village it became clear that this was indeed a very small place. There was a blacksmith who seemed to have quite good business, a stables beyond that with a large pasture area that children and horses were roaming freely. There was also some sort of industrial building that they could not identify and a small marketplace with three stands, leading onto a large courtyard. It was when they were standing in the middle of this courtyard that they could see the large river that ran through the village, cutting it in half.

"That must be the source of the fish smell. You can see them leaping out of the water!" Luke rushed to the water's edge to get a better look at the fish, Hershel and Emmy bringing up the rear.

"Professor, I have never seen fish like those before in my life. Have you?"

"I cannot say that I have. Perhaps they are local to this area? Whatever they are, Luke seems to have taken a liking to them." Both adults watched as Luke tried to speak to his new friends. After a few minutes he got up and brushed the dirt off his knees.

"Shall we find the inn now, assistant number two?"

"I am number one!" They were off, Emmy purposely winding Luke up and Luke falling for it every time. Sometimes he swore that Emmy was really a child in the disguise of a woman but then he would lose his train of thought and get lost in thoughts of her body, her long brown hair, her beautiful curves. He shook his head rather sharply and followed the bickering pair.

"Is this it? It's kind of.. Small.." Luke scratched his head despite the blue cap atop of it.

"This whole village is small, you fit right in." Emmy grinned down at the boy who looked outraged.

"I am still growing!"

"Yeah, sure, shrimp. Always a gentleman, thank you, Professor." Hershel held the door open for his companions and smiled as Emmy placed a hand on his arm.

"Of course."

Within the building was rather bare. In front of them was a counter with a till upon it, and beside the counter sat a tall plant. A tall, fake plant which had a copious amount of dust adorning each leaf. To the left was a large fireplace the back of which was scorched black after many years of use. To the right was a set of stairs leading to the floor above. A tall, skinny man stood behind the counter, peering down at the trio through thick glasses.

"Hello?" His voice was nasal and rather annoying.

"Good day, sir. My name is Hershel Layton and these are my companions. We are looking to stay for a while." Hershel smiled politely but the man kept a plain, emotionless face.

"I figured. Your names." He pointed at the other two with his pencil.

"Emmy Altava."

"Luke Triton."

"I'll see what I can do." He scribbled into a book hidden by the high counter then sharply snapped it shut. "Would you care to wait by the fireplace?"

"Actually, we were on our way to meeting somebody. A Ms. Merrin, she sent me a letter. Would you be able to give us directions to her home?"

"Merrin? Her house is on top of the hill, across the courtyard. Don't cross the river." The man drawled then disappeared through a door behind the counter leaving three slightly confused customers.

"I suppose we had better follow his instructions then, we shall come back for our rooms this evening." Hershel smiled and ushered the pair back outside into the large courtyard.

"She lives on top of the hill.." Luke spun around in search of a hill but all he could see was a large industrial building that sat over the river. It looked as though it was abandoned and had been for quite some time. "What is that!"

"It could be some type of factory.. Although judging by the fish in the water and it's position over the river I would say that it once was a fishery. But it is not the hill we are looking for."

"Over here, Professor." Emmy was already halfway up the steep path which led to a large stone building. It looked as though it was once the fortified house that dominated the walled town and beside it sat a smaller, more modern looking building. A sign adorned the second building, 'Guard House'.

"Well, we have found the Police Headquarters anyway."

The large building itself was rather grand and imposing, not in as bad shape as the walls but still showing signs of neglect. It was a beautiful place despite the slight decay and the large oak doors sounded thick when Hershel used the knocker. The doors opened to reveal a small man who looked as though somebody had forgotten him in a hot, dry room for too long. Luke would later comment that the butler looked more wrinkled than a prune.

"Good day Sirs, Madam." He did a small bow and stepped aside for the trio to enter. The heavy door seemed to close of it's own accord. "My name is Anton and I am the Butler for Ms. Merrin. May I ask who is calling?"

"Hershel Layton and his companions." He was beginning to get a little tired of introductions. "Ms. Merrin is the only person who resides in this house?"

"She is. Except for myself and Marcia, she is the maid. Master Petyr left a couple of years ago. If you would excuse me." The small man bowed out, leaving the trio in the entrance foyer.

Before them was a grand staircase, a door either side of the stairs as well as a door either side of them. Anton had disappeared to the right, the left looked untouched in quite some time. The walls of the foyer were lined with portraits of passed members of the Merrin family.

"The oldest family in the village.." He mused softly as he examined the faces. Each Merrin was pale with impossibly pale blue eyes to match, but where one would expect blonde hair with such a complexion they all had the darkest, deepest black locks.

"They all look the same.." Luke marvelled, standing on his tippy toes to see some of the larger paintings.

"I am sure they practised in arranged marriages, continuing the bloodline with only other well off families. They probably chose the partners by looks also, keep it in the family."

"You are quite correct, Mister Layton." A new voice sounded from behind, a young woman stood in the doorway Anton had disappeared through. She was most certainly younger than Emmy, barely more than twenty years old, but she held herself with the grace of somebody far older. And her eyes, the same ghostly blue, held wisdom of years she had not yet seen.

"Ms. Merrin."

"Indeed. I am so happy that you came, but to explain to your young apprentice, my family has always been known for being incredibly vain. They adored their unique looks so strove to keep this 'perfect' image in the family for centuries. But it has come to an end, I am afraid, my parents failed to arrange partners for myself or my Brother before their deaths so we are free to break the pattern if we so wish."

"Your Brother, that's Petyr?" Emmy had been uncharacteristically quiet for the past few minutes and had finally found her voice once more.

"It is, my baby brother felt that this place was going to the dogs. So he fled, I believe abroad." The young woman gestured for them to follow her. "We shall talk in the study where you can take a seat, I know that the walk up here can be quite tiring."

The study was a large room lined with bookshelves, no doubt it doubled as a library. Each bookshelf was literally overflowing with text after text on a whole variety of subjects. At a glance Hershel noticed books on botany, mathematics and even novels, all lined up so that not an inch of plain wall remained. A large desk stood at the back of the room and two sofas lined the fireplace, a coffee table between the two. There was nothing else to the room.

"Please, take a seat. Anton will bring us some tea."

Three sat on one sofa and the Lady of the house sat opposite, sitting with the grace of her upbringing. As predicted, each was supplied with a cup of tea and Anton stood silently beside the door in case his mistress were to need anything else.

"Now, to why I have asked you to come here. I am sure you wish for more information than was in my letter?"

"Please. I also have a few questions."

"Why don't we start with those?"

"The large building that sits upon the river. What on earth is it?"

"Ah, the fishery. We have an abundance of fish in our village, as you probably noticed when you entered our village. The breed we seem to attract is known as the Alamur fish, a delicious treat that breeds regularly so there is no danger of under population. We used to have huge numbers of them, you could pick one out of the river they were so common."

"But one day, a year ago, the fish numbers dropped harshly. The population halved in the space of a week, which then halved again in the next three days. In an attempt to save the fish we stopped fishing them and blocked the access to the river, hoping to cultivate the few left in town. Our local scientist went to investigate the causes outside of the village and came back with news of a new pest that was killing off all the fish. They have been named Dufferins, a newt-like creature which eats the poor fish like a piranha might. They hunt in packs and can shred the flesh off a large mammal in mere minutes."

Little Luke paled at the thought of such a creature, it sounded like something out of a horror movie.

"They range from pink to blue in colour and we have yet to find a way to get rid of them. So all the fish that remain are stuck in the river in town, too few to fish regularly. So the fishery became useless and shut down, the village has been suffering greatly ever since. And with the bad weather as of late we have no money to repair the damage done by the storms, several people are living on the streets."

Anton returned to his mistress' side and offered her a tissue which she gratefully took. "Thank you, Anton." She dabbed the tears threatening to fall.

"I cannot help my people to repair their homes, the least I can do is help them solve these disappearances."

"So you sent for my help.." Hershel felt sorry for the young woman, she held the weight of the whole town on her shoulders at such a young age.

"I had heard of the greatest mind in England and just prayed you may be able to help me. I shall tell you more about why I called you here now, the rest is my problem." She smiled weakly.

"As I said in my letter, it began with thievery. Raw meat, scraps of metal, wood.. And silverware from my own home." He nodded for her to go on. "Next, the local cats started to disappear. We have several, as you can imagine with a fishing town, but they were to catch the rats that moved in around a century ago. The occasional dog vanished also, for which I have no explanation. After that, the rats vanished. Every last one left the town. Of course, it has been nice without them, but it just doesn't feel right."

"Finally, our villagers started to go missing. The fish stall clerk, she was first to vanish. She was last seen packing up her stall, never returned the next morning. Then the gate guard's brother, an apprentice police officer, left for a late night walk and never came home. His wife is worried sick, his young daughter cries for him every night." Another dab with the tissue. "A week later the manager of the fishery turned up missing. He lives alone so nobody can say how long he has been gone, but he is most certainly.. Gone!"

"You said in your letter that recently a fourth person went missing?" Emmy piped up from beside her boss.

"Yes. The scientist I mentioned? Well, his apprentice reported him missing last Friday. Said he hadn't turned up to work for two days and decided it was finally time to report it. He was the smartest man in town, I don't know.." She shook her head. "Please, Mister Layton, help me help my village?"

"Of course. I would not have come here if I was not prepared to help in any way that I could." He reached across the table and gently touched her hand. "I shall do all that I can to help the villagers of Mespil. Starting with the apprentice scientist."

"The building beside the blacksmith is their office.. They work in there all day long, doing all sorts of tests, mainly on the wetlands around here." She cast a glance at the timepiece on the mantle. "But it is getting late and I am sure you have been travelling all day."

"Ah, indeed we have, yes. And I must feed these two before they start eating each other."

"Hey!" But Luke's stomach chimed in with his voice and he blushed furiously. "Oh dear.."

Tonetta laughed, a smile on her face once again. "There is a small café that the villagers adore just across the river. The prices are low and the food is divine. I trust you saw the inn on your way here so I shall ask Anton to escort you out. Thank you again, Mister Layton. This means the world to me."

"Not at all. Anything to help a Lady. After all, that's what a gentleman does."

The café across the river was exactly what was said, cheap and delicious. Hershel had watched in awe as his assistant and apprentice polished off as much food as he did and nearly the same would never understand how the two of them managed to eat so much without exploding. It was beginning to get dark by the time they returned to the inn and Luke was regretting that last scoop of ice cream.

"I feel like I could burst!"

"Well do it here, please, I do not wish to have to pay to clean the room after you blew up in it."

"Well, if he did blow up we would get some peace on in a while, eh Professor?" The two adults laughed as Luke pulled a face, trying not to stomp his feet.

The owner of the inn was waiting at the counter when they arrived and he still looked as miserable as before. "Ah, Mister Layton. I have your room ready."

"Room?"

"Yes, room. We only have four, one was damaged in the last storm and the other two are occupied. I can send up a cot for the boy, it has a double bed." He lifted his phone and started to speak to somebody on the other end. Hershel felt a distinct warmth in his cheeks at the thought of sharing a bed with Emmy. Of course, he would sleep on anything else that was available, eve the floor, but just the thought.

"Thank you.." His voice was a little weaker as he took the key from the man and led his companions up to their room. It was quite a decent size with a bathroom attached. The double bed sat against the back wall and a cot was set up near the end of it. Other than that there was an armchair and a small table.

"Well, this is cosy!" Emmy dropped her bag beside the table and went to check out the bathroom. Luke, on the other hand, looked up at the Professor.

"You can take the cot if you want, Professor. I can sleep in that chair. I am only little." He grinned a boyish grin and Hershel thanked him for his kindness.

"We shall see, Luke. I do not want you to sleep in an awkward position, it would not be fair on you. You may be small but you still need to take care of your back. For now, take the cot. Emmy and I are adults, we can cope with sharing a bed." But could he?

It had been a recent change in his views of her, over the past month or so, and it was effecting him more and more the longer he was around her. As she was his assistant, that was often. He had started to take in how much of a beautiful woman she really was. He always viewed her as a young woman, a teenager in age simply due to the way she acted often. But in truth, she was less than ten years younger than him and very attractive. It was difficult for him to admit that he found her attractive as that may lead to feelings he did not want, he was still recovering from losing his beloved Claire and feelings for somebody else would just confuse him.

"I am going to get changed, boys, so no peeking!" Emmy returned for her bag and disappeared once more into the bathroom. Luke dumped his own bag on his coat in search of some pyjamas to wear leaving Hershel standing alone, like a fool, near the door.

"Professor? Aren't you tired?"

"Oh, yes, of course." He smiled at the boy and copied his actions, finding his own bed wear.

Taking it in turns to use the bathroom for changing, washing and brushing teeth, Hershel was the last to leave the small rooms. He switched the light off and found that the room was in total darkness. He could make out the form of Luke in his cot and could hear his light snoring already. It had been a long drive in. He smiled fondly at the boy and carefully stepped around him to his side of the double bed.

Emmy was already in the bed with her back facing him, he could just make out the colour of her pyjamas in the moonlight filtering through the gap in the curtains. Yellow, he should have guessed. She did adore that yellow coat of hers. He placed his bag against the wall and sat, the bed dipping under his weight.

"Professor?" Her voice was muffled into the pillow and sounded sleepy.

"Yes, Emmy?"

"Do you sleep in that hat?"

He chuckled softly and lay down. "Go to sleep, Emmy. Good night."

"Good night, Professor."

In the middle of the night there was a loud roaring noise that tore through the entire village, ripping the trio out of the warm world of sleep. Hershel was the first to his feet and to the window, staring in shock at what had once been the fishery. Luke was at his side then Emmy.

"Where did it go?"

* * *

_This is the longest chapter I have ever written!_

_Chapter 2: Conceived in a train station, written on a three hour train ride across Ireland._


	3. Carnage

More than half the villagers had turned up to see the source of the loud noise and almost every last one of them were in their pyjamas. It appeared that they were late for the party, coming to a stop beside the owner of the inn who had a gown wrapped tight around his body.

"What happened?"

"The fishery just vanished." The man had the same tone as before even though he looked visibly shocked at the sight before him.

"How can an entire building just vanish, Professor?" Luke was rubbing his eyes as if he might still be sleeping, that this was all just a dream.

"It can't.. Not without some sort of machinery or help. Buildings don't just vanish." Emmy responded as it seemed Hershel was far too interested in the spot where the fishery once stood.

His dark eyes scanned the area, he could see the place where the walls once stood but where the building itself had once been was now just water. No ground, no concrete, just water. It was as if the entire building had just been floating upon a rectangular shaped lake. But even in the dim moonlight something caught his eye. Something moved.

"What's going on 'ere then?" Madigan arrived from the guard house, trotting down the hill in his hastily fastened uniform. He took one look at the missing building and started towards the edge.

"Emmy, quickly, pull everybody back from the edge. Madigan!" Hershel pushed his way through the growing crowd in an attempt to get to the guard who was now crouching close to the water's edge. "Get back!"

"Hey, look Mummy! There's something moving!" A little girl across the river was tugging on her Mother's sleeve.

"Holy sh-"

It all happened in a flash. The waters of Mespil were calm one moment and alive the next. Hershel got to Madigan just in time to save him from losing his hand to the Dufferin that suddenly leapt from the water. The men crashed to the ground and scrambled backwards as the creature made an odd hissing noise before returning to the thriving waters. People were screaming, running, and thankfully nobody was close enough to the water for anything to happen. Hershel stared at the waters in shock, occasionally glimpsing flashes of the pink dufferins and the dark brown of the Amalur fish, the battle finally ending with the waters turning a sickening shade of crimson.

"Professor!" He was suddenly hauled to his feet by his assistant and apprentice who were both worried for his well being.

"I am fine you two, I promise.."

The water was becoming redder by the second and it was more than disturbing. He turned Luke so he could not see the carnage. A loud metallic noise sounded and gates came crashing down from under the bridge, blocking all access to the remaining fish in the river.

"A safeguard in case this ever happened.." Tonetta was suddenly behind them, Anton at her side, with her pale gown wrapped tight around her small frame. The trio turned to look at the woman. "If the Dufferins were to ever get into the village, I wanted to be certain that the remaining fish would be safe. Anton, get Madigan and his men to set up barriers around the lake. Nobody gets within two metres of the water's edge."

"Right away, Ms. Merrin."

"And make sure the children do not see the carnage." The butler hurried up off the hill leaving the four behind in a suddenly very empty courtyard. "I sent the villagers back to their homes."

"Very wise. You certainly know how to take care of your village, Ms. Merrin."

"Why, thank you, Mister Layton. If I do not then who will? Now, I hope you will all return to your beds for the rest of the night. No more can be done here tonight." The barriers were already being brought down to block off all access to the new, infested lake.

"Quite right. After speaking to the apprentice in the morning we shall get some eye witness statements, surely a few people must have seen what happened."

"I shall get Madigan to canvass, see if anybody did see, and Anton shall get the names to you in the morning. Good night Mister Layton. Miss Altava, Master Triton."

Hershel ushered his little group back towards the inn, Ms Merrin had everything under control it seemed. There was little more he could do until the sun rose so they might as well get some more sleep, although he had a feeling he may find sleep difficult to achieve. People going missing had been worrying in itself but now an entire building had seemingly vanished into thin air, allowing those nasty creatures into the village. He had never seen such things before! And they had caused such carnage in such a short amount of time.

"Professor?" He felt a hand gently touch his own. "Are you in there?"

They were standing just inside their room, Luke had already returned to his bed eager to rid his mind of the images of red water and flashes of those creatures. Emmy gently closed her hand fully around his own and tugged him back towards the bed.

"You saved that man, you know."

"I didn't." He laughed softly, giving her hand a small squeeze. "But thank you. We should get some rest, we have a busy day ahead of us. Hopefully we shall not have any more rude awakenings."

"I hope so." She released his hand and settled back down into her own side of the bed. It may have taken a few moments but she was asleep almost instantly. He couldn't help but watch her for a long time, his legs didn't seem to want to move.

_What _are _you doing, Hershel? She is your assistant, a young woman who most likely has some handsome, buff boyfriend that she returns to each night. What would she ever see in you? You are just an ageing professor who spends his life solving puzzles and teaching students archaeology. You are quite the bore, Hershel. Just let the girl live her life, keep it all to yourself. _

He sighed deeply as he settled into bed, pulling the covers over his body. He stared up at the ceiling as Emmy snoozed beside him. No longer was she the troubling matter on his mind, instead he was trying to figure out just how an entire building could disappear in a matter of seconds. It was physically impossible, buildings just didn't disappear. The elusive land of nod eventually claimed the troubled man sometime near dawn.

"Thank you!" Luke's voice chirped and stirred Hershel from his slumber. He moved to rub his face but found one arm was pinned to the bed by something warm. He frowned and looked over to find Emmy cuddled into his side.

"Morning.." She murmured into the material of his pyjamas, seemingly unaware of where she was sleeping.

"Good morning, Emmy." He responded with a warm smile. Despite his internal debate a few hours previously he allowed himself to enjoy the feeling of her body tucked against his. But he was a gentleman so he gently nudged her, hoping to save her the embarrassment of realising where she had been.

"Breakfast! It was brought up to us so we are full up and ready to go for our busy day." Luke was making loud noises with plates setting up three seats at the small table they had been provided with.

"Ooh, I'm starving." Emmy rolled off of the professor without a care in the world, so it seemed, leaving a very startled Hershel laying in bed. He was usually the first one up but the previous night was not exactly a normal one.

"Why am I not surprised?" He finally found his voice was joined the two for breakfast, determined that the day would be normal for them all.

XXX

"Rikka Egest. Pleasure to meet you, Professor Layton. If only it were in better circumstances." The woman who greeted them at the door was a skinny woman with bright blonde hair tied back in a tight ponytail and thick glasses over blue eyes. She ushered them all to take a seat but it was more a case of finding a seat in the cluttered office.

"I agree, these are not the most desirable of circumstances."

"What can I help you with? I assume you want to know about Arnic disappearing." She continued upon receiving a nod. "Well, he often disappears for a day or so at a time, he likes to go outside the village walls and research the wetlands. So I wasn't worried at first. But when it became the third day, I couldn't cover anymore. I went and told the guards, who told me that three others had gone missing. Apparently it's been all around town, I figure I should get out more."

"Was he acting strangely before he disappeared, by any chance? Or had he mentioned noticing anything strange?"

Rikka pushed her glasses up her nose, a frown causing them to slip as she thought back. She scratched the top of her head causing some strands of hair to come loose. "He was only researching the Dufferins.. And they are pretty strange in themselves. So not really, not that I can think of."

"I see. Well, thank you. Would you be able to tell me anything about the Dufferins after what happened last night? It would be good to have some information about them seeing as they are now in the town."

"I am afraid it was Arnic's pet project, Professor, I have no idea about them. All I know is as much as the other villagers do. My apologies. You can have a look at his notes though, his office is through that door."

The office was just as cluttered as the main room, papers covered every surface except for the armchair behind the desk.

"How are we going to find anything useful in here?" Luke headed off to the left to start searching.

"It reminds me of your office, Professor. Before Rosa gets her hands on it. With your experience you may be able to find what we're looking f-"

"Got it!"

"Well that was quick, Luke.." Hershel took the offered papers and scanned across the first page. "General observations about the species dubbed 'Dufferin'. Most of this seems to be information we already know. I think we should take the rest of the notes with us, though, read through them when we get back to the inn tonight."

"I'll get the box, Professor!" Luke was determined to be a gentleman, even at such a young age, and was lost behind the large box he insisted on carrying all the way to the inn.

XXX

"It just disappeared!"

"It was there one second then it was just water!"

"It melted and became part of the Wetlands!"

All of the reports were similar, not one person gave a logical explanation, every last person who had been present last night insisted that the building had just vanished into thin air. As much as Hershel knew this could not be true it was incredibly hard to believe otherwise. There was no way he could get into the area to investigate, all he had to rely on was the eye witness statements.

"I refuse to believe that a building just disappeared!" Luke's words were muffled by the dinner he had unceremoniously shoved into his mouth. No matter how much the boy strived to be a gentleman he always ate like the little boy he was.

"I know, Luke, but we have nothing else to prove otherwise. For now, we shall just have to go with that. We shall have to focus on figuring out where these poor missing people have gone. Starting with that Scientist, we have all of those notes to go through. So you'd better finish up your dinner, you too Emmy, we best get moving."

"You know there's no chance of you winning! You don't stand a chance against Ms. Merrin! She is the best fencer in the village!"

Luke turned towards the source of the voices. Two teenagers were talking in the back of the café, pointing to a poster that was plastered up on the wall. The title of the poster caught his attention and he tugged on the Professor's sleeve.

"Look, Professor, there is a fencing tournament here tomorrow. You should enter! It will be a nice break.."

"A nice break?" He chuckled warmly. "Luke, we have not done enough to deserve a break. We are no closer to helping these people than we were when we arrived yesterday."

"But, Professor! It will help the people to keep calm and relax, something nice in these tough times."

"Luke has a point, Professor. It would be nice to see the village when it is happy, too."

"I tell you what. I'll think about it."

"Great!"

* * *

_I love the reviews, they make me want to write more! So please? Clicky? :D_


	4. It's Time To Duel!

"Head." A metallic clash followed before another order. "Foot."

Luke had spent the entire evening trying to convince the Professor to take part in the fencing tournament and Hershel had finally given in, so long as Luke promised to be quiet and keep reading through the notes they had retrieved from the Scientist's office. Of course, Luke would not let the whole thing drop that easily, he was determined that the Professor would teach him how to fence also. So, the following morning the boys headed out early so Luke could receive a crash course in fencing before the tournament began at midday.

"Luke, remember, you have to be fast or you could lose more than just this duel. These are not toys."

Emmy had been left in the inn to have her breakfast and enjoy some alone time without the boys. It was nearing ten when she made her way to the courtyard and found the two, swords in hand, with Hershel attacking Luke slowly and carefully.

"Good morning, boys! How is the training going?"

"Well!" Luke chirped but suddenly found himself with the end of a sword pressing into his chest.

"Not so well, eh Luke?" Hershel chuckled softly and took the sword from his young opponent, holding one in either hand tip down. He bowed to his opponent who matched the action before hurrying off to Emmy's side.

"You lost, apprentice number two. How embarrassing.." She gently teased and ruffled his hair to which he complained loudly.

"Emmy!" He smoothed his hair out and put his cap back on. The Professor had warned him that it may get in the way, despite the fact he still wore his own top hat.

Hershel laid the swords on the rack with the others that had been gathered for the tournament, it was about time he had some breakfast. He and Luke had been practising for hours. It had taken the boy quite some time to get used to wielding the sword, though it was not heavy it was still long and took balance. But once he could wield the sword Hershel spent his time teaching the boy how to block more than anything. Although people seemed to think he was a good fencer he had never been the best, as a teenager he was the less talented in his circle of friends.

"I'm sorry, Luke. Why don't you run off and get some breakfast? You'll need all the energy you can get to take part in this tournament." The boy nodded and ran off back to the inn leaving Emmy alone with the Professor. "How do you think he will do?"

"I'd say he'll get through the lower ranks."

"Not bad for a few hours practise." Emmy settled herself beside the Professor on the riverside bench.

"Maybe if he does okay he will be happy to go back to working on this case. I am really concerned by the Dufferins, there's only some plastic barriers between them and us. It is a disaster waiting to happen."

"Professor, they are not our concern. We are here to find out what happened to the missing people. Ms. Merrin seems to have it covered. And it seems she will also be your big competition for this tournament. Let yourself relax a little."

"It is difficult to relax."

"I know it is. Is is the whole thing with Madigan and saving him that's bothering you?" She gently placed her hand on top of his.

"I didn't sav-"

"Yes, you did, Professor. It is not the first time you have saved somebody and it shall not be the last. I know you, I know what you are like. You cannot help but help others, save them. Because you are a good man." She smiled at him and he managed a smile back, his eyes drifting to their hands.

"Do you fancy learning how to duel?" He asked softly and stood up, pulling her to stand with him. He pulled her towards the rack of swords and placed one in her hand. She looked at him incredulously as she limply held the sword by it's grip. "Hold the hilt tightly."

"Professor?"

"Here, like this." He closed his hand around hers and showed her how to properly hold the sword. "The guard protects your hand from slipping up the blade, the pommel stops the blade from slipping from your hand. Keep your hand firmly between the two."

He helped her position her hand between the two then positioned himself beside her. He was able to speak directly in her ear. His mind was not quite registering just what was going on, that he had his body pressed up against her back. He was right up in her personal space and he was subconsciously loving it.

"This is a foil, one of three types of sword used. Invented in 18th Century France, it is a fast weapon favoured by gentlemen of the time. Academic students would also duel with these as a hobby. In a true competition a hit is counted as anywhere on the torso, I am sure this is the way the duels will go today. Depending on which type of sword you use there are different ways of duelling and where on the body counts as a hit."

"Do you use this one?" She asked quietly, turning her head a little so she could see his face.

"No. I use a Sabre, a slightly heavier sword which is the only one of the three that allows hits with the side of the blade to count. And a hit is anywhere above the waist, including the hand that holds the sword. The final sword is an épée, the heaviest sword that allows hits anywhere on the body. But my sword of choice means I have to be fast, the manoeuvres are quick and precise."

"Show me?"

He replaced the sword in her hand for his favoured sword, the main difference was the shape of the blade. Instead of a rectangular cross section the Sabre had a V-shaped blade. And the guard protecting the hand was larger to cover the hand from a hit.

"It doesn't feel much different."

"No, but it's how you use it." He stepped up close to her again and gently, slowly, moved her arm in attacking motions. "You can use the side of the blade, remember. So the odds are that you and your opponent will get up close on at least one occasion, trying to get in a hit. Usually, you would wear protection and an electric response suit. But this blade has not yet been transferred to electrical duels so it's a case of trying to get to the opponent's chest or throat. The end has a protective bauble on it to prevent harm."

He knew she wasn't listening to him and he didn't care. For the first time he noticed how close they were and how much he was enjoying being this close to her. He took a deep, steadying breath and rested his free hand on her hip. When she didn't make any move to remove his hand or yell at him he left his hand there. He continued to gently coach her on attacking and defending moves, the two in a comfortable silence. But the silence did not last long.

"Professor! It's nearly time for the first match." He immediately stepped back from Emmy when Luke came racing around the corner. He cleared his throat and took the sword back as Emmy offered it to him.

"Indeed it is, Luke. Let us prepare, shall we? Here is your foil."

XXX

All in all there were thirty two competitors for the tournament this year, ranging in age from children to middle aged adults. It appeared that fencing was a popular sport in the village of Mespil, and as Luke had learned from one of the other boys participating, it was a historical sport that had been in the village's history for as long as it had been Mespil.

Luke had done well, making it through his first match into the quarter finals. Unfortunately he was knocked out by a teenager who had been practising for as long as he could hold a blade. He was not completely out of the running and took part in a few more matches against others who had been knocked out for a series of runners up prizes. Hershel, on the other hand, was doing as well as was expected of him.

Hershel Layton was quickly rising through the ranks, aiming straight for the final match which everybody said would be against Ms. Merrin herself. She had been battling against other villagers in different duels to himself, ultimately ending up with the two of them battling face to face in the final.

It was now mid afternoon and a lot of people had returned home to have their tea, the crowd had halved since the start of the tournament. Hershel stood with Emmy and Luke, the latter incredibly excited at the prospect of the Professor winning the entire tournament.

"You can do it, Professor, I know you will beat her!"

Hershel chuckled softly. "Well thank you, Luke. I do not know though, she is a very formidable opponent."

The woman in question was already in position in the centre of the courtyard with her sword in hand, dressed in shirt and trousers for easier movement. She looked very different from the women they had first met in the extravagant dress and long flowing curls.

"Come on Layton, no more wasting time." She teased playfully, her sword cutting through the air audibly.

"Alright, I am coming." He laughed and turned to join her in the centre of the courtyard but a hand touching his made him pause.

"Good luck, Professor." Emmy smiled at him and leant forward to kiss his cheek. "I am sure you will win."

He was surprised that he didn't blush a bright red colour when her lips connected with his cheek and he simply smiled back at her. "Thank you."

The two opponents met in the centre of the laid out circle for the match and the judge stepped in between the two and repeated the same words that he had several times that day. "I want a clean fight, swords must be safe and no blows above shoulder height. The victor is the first to strike the chest of the opponent. Choice of sword means side of blade or tip both count."

The two nodded in agreement to the rules and raised their swords to touch. "Begin!"

Ms. Merrin was the first to strike, metal hitting off metal as Hershel defended himself. It was a teasing taster of what was to come and soon they were just a flurry of movement. The crowds surrounding then were silent as the two exchanged blows, he had to admit that Ms. Merrin was very good with a sword. He swung for her stomach ready for a final blow but she was far too quick, stepping out of the way and dashing behind him. She gave hi a quick kick in the backside and he went stumbling forwards, the crowd spreading for him.

Now she was on the offensive, blow after blow raining down upon Hershel who was just about able to block each blow, rapidly changing direction to ensure she did not get a hit on his torso. But each time her sword came down upon his he was losing more and more ground. He didn't realise he had backed so close to the river's edge until he tried to take another step back and nearly went over the edge. The entire crowd gasped and Emmy had to stop Luke from shouting out, Hershel didn't need distractions now.

"I win, Layton." Ms. Merrin grinned and her sword came down with one final blow, striking him across the chest with the blunt blade and sending him tumbling backwards into the river. The crowd erupted in cheers and Emmy and Luke rushed straight to the water's edge.

"Professor? Are you alright?" Luke was desperately looking for a way down to help out.

Hershel resurfaced and laughed, his hand atop his hat to keep it in place. He could feel the fish swimming past him in panic, it was an odd sensation. "I am fine, Luke. I assure you. I am just a little wet."

The pair calmed significantly and Emmy folded her arms over her chest. "Well, are you coming back up here then? We do have a case to work on, you know."

"Touché." He laughed softly and started searching the water for his sword, the blade had flown from his hand when he tumbled backwards. After a few moments searching a frown creased his features. "There's some sort of passage under here.. The fish keep going down it.."

* * *

_Well, another chapter! I am getting these out fast :P Next one in a few days fingers crossed!_

_I love reviews? :D_


	5. Underground

"The tunnels run under the entire village, giving access to the pooling water from the Aquifer beneath us to the fish. As you can tell, we have a lot of water around us. Only the waters beneath the village are safe for the fish."

"Can the fish really live under the water without light for that long?" Hershel was dripping wet, his clothes plastered to his body. It wasn't comfortable, his orange shirt had stuck itself to his chest lining out every part of his body, he was thankful for his brown overcoat. Even the rim of his top hat was dripping every now and then. They were standing in the courtyard after Luke and Emmy had helped the Professor from the river, talking to Ms. Merrin who was the celebrated victor of the tournament.

"Yes, they are similar to those who live on the bottom of oceans. The Amalur fish is quite an interesting breed." She still held her sword in her hand, lightly leaning on the tip. She was particularly amused seeing the Professor dripping wet but it appeared not as amused as his companions.

"Are there man made tunnels under the village also?"

"Of course, we must be sure that no harm come to the fish. I can grant you access if that is what you desire?"

He nodded his head, a few more drops falling from his hat to the paving below his feet. "That would be perfect. But I think that is for tomorrow. I would rather get changed and have a warm dinner right now."

"Of course." She laughed softly and offered him her hand. "Good match, Professor Layton. You play well, I just know my turf better."

He smiled and shook her offered hand, apologising for the wet hand shake. The crowds slowly departed and Ms. Merrin eventually returned to her home leaving the trio to amble back to the inn.

"Luke, go and get some take away dinner, it doesn't matter particularly what, and bring it back to the inn. Here's the spare key." Emmy handed Luke her spare key and ushered him away before catching up to the Professor.

"Warm food is definitely what I need right. I am getting quite cold." Hershel laughed softly.

"Well first you should grab a shower. You smell of fish." She grinned as she followed him into their room. "At least you have stopped dripping now."

He didn't have many spare sets of clothing but thankfully whatever he did have was warm and dry, unlike him. He carefully peeled his overcoat off and laid it across the small table, frowning at it. "I did not bring a spare one of these.. Oh well."

His shirt was still clinging to his body uncomfortably and he truly could not wait to be out of it. Bundling up his clothing in his arms he grabbed a towel and vanished into the bathroom for a quick shower. The warm water on his cold body was absolute heaven, washing off the annoying stench of fishy waters that clung to his body. But, much to his dismay, the smell stubbornly seemed to want to stay on his skin. He frowned, adding some more soap, but nothing got rid of the remaining stench.

"Professor?" There was a gentle known on the door and he pulled the curtain back to stick his head out.

"What is it, Emmy?"

"Are you having trouble getting rid of the smell? I have a solution. I'm coming in."

His eyes widened and he dropped the curtain back into place. He felt a blush tinge his cheeks when the door opened and she began moving around the room. He swallowed hard and backed away from the curtain, covering himself with both hands. He was afraid to ask what she was doing as he didn't trust his voice not to betray him. He heard her place something down on the edge of the sink and then the door closed again.

"Use that! It will help!" She called through the door.

He gingerly pulled the curtain back and looked at the item she had brought him. He carefully stepped out to grab it then disappeared back into the safety of the shower. He looked at the container in his hands with a frown of slight confusion. "Salt, Emmy?"

"Trust me, Professor." He could hear her smiling. He decided he would trust her and started to rub the salt into his body. Almost immediately he noticed that the smell was leaving his skin, much to his relief. Ten minutes later he left the bathroom fully dressed, his damp top hat perched upon damp hair. Dinner was all set out for him and he enjoyed his evening with Emmy and Luke.

XXX

The next morning they were woken by Madigan, he was the man who held the key to all underground access tunnels. And he was also the man who set up the maintenance crews to keep an eye on the integrity of these vital tunnels. He led them to a small alleyway near the town's entrance down which sat a large circular metal door. Madigan unlocked the three separated padlocks that guarded the contents from the outside world and finally, with Hershel's help, forced the heavy door open.

"You'll need these." He handed each of them a lantern and Luke offered to hold the can of spare oil. "We don't have many torches in town so these will have to do. I will be outside so shout if you need anything, but you should be fine."

"Thank you, Madigan." Luke was eager to head off but Emmy was a little cautious, quite unlike her. But those creatures had scared her, the dufferins.

"How long has it been since somebody was down here?"

"Oh, a few months since I unlocked it last." Madigan scratched the back of his neck and shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe a year."

"All right. Well, see you soon then."

"I shall come down for you if you are not back here in two hours, that gives you plenty of time." He nodded his head to them and left through the open door. He could not close the door alone so he would guard the open passage.

"Now, Luke, you can lead the way. But do not run off. We don't know what could be down here so we must stick together." Hershel warned the boy and he thankfully listened, nodding slowly.

Luke lead the way into the dark, dank tunnels, the smell of fish rather overwhelming now that they were below the town. The only sounds other than their footfall and breathing was the rushing of water ahead and the occasional dripping from above them. It was not exactly a nice place to be in but the trio made steady progress through the tunnels.

"So what are we looking for, Professor?" Emmy had not left his side the entire time.

"I am not quite sure, but there has to be something going on under here. The dufferins are breaking into the town's water systems, I want to know if they have a way of accessing here also. I have a feeling that these creatures are not working out of their own will."

"What does that mean?"

"I think somebody is behind the creatures, introducing them to the town or something similar. I find it hard to believe that they can do this alone."

"I suppose you are right, I am sure wild animals don't break through walls.."

"Professor!" Luke's voice rang out from a few metres ahead and the adults jogged to catch up. "Is this something worth noting?"

Before them stood a large door, similar to the one they had entered the tunnels through. It was down one of the side tunnels but looked far newer than all around it. There was a heavy padlock on the door and no doubt there were more guards on the other side, but it was most certainly suspicious.

"Well done, Luke.." Hershel cautiously approached the door and touched the cool metal. "I don't think we shall be getting through this any time soon. If it is anything like the first door, I would need help shifting it even without the locks."

He turned back to his companions. "I think we should find a blueprint of the tunnel system when we return to the surface, see if this is marked."

"You think this is new, Professor?"

"Is looks newer, doesn't it? Let us continue on." Luke was a lot more hesitant to lead the way now that the Professor was suspicious so Hershel was now leading the pack. Another couple of twists and turns and several minutes later they were stopped in their tracks.

"Do you hear that?"

"Luke, quiet." Hershel heard Emmy say but he was busy searching the darkness in front of him. There were scuffling sounds and the occasional splash of water coming from directly ahead, their lamps didn't stretch far enough. He extended his arm into the darkness in an attempt to see but, as if on cue, his lamp stuttered and died.

"Professor.."

"Luke?"

"There!" The creatures started to come from the darkness, hissing at the people they encountered. One, two, three dufferins. Hershel took a careful step back. "I really wish you had your sword now, Professor.."

"They aren't sharp, Luke. But when I say.." He looked around quickly, using the light from the lamps behind him. "Run!"

Emmy and Luke took off at his word, Luke dropping his lamp so he could run faster but Emmy knew well that they needed the light so they could see where they were going. But if the Professor's lamp had died hers wasn't far off joining it and they had no time to stop and refill it. Left with the creatures which, thankfully, did not run off after the others, Hershel had located himself some form of weapon. He had the lamp in his hand and there was a rock to his left, it might just be heavy enough to do some damage.

He had to get a good hold on his lamp so he gripped it around it's glass panelling, ignoring the burning pain in his palm. He lobbed it at the middle creature, hitting it square in the head. He was unsure if it was just stunned or truly dead but there was no time to check as the left took a lunge at him. He managed to duck and roll away, grabbing the rock as he collided with the slimy wall. He chucked it at the third and took off without even waiting to see if he had hit home.

"Professor!" He could hear Emmy's voice ahead but no light, the final lamp had died. He all but ran into her, the two had been waiting in the dark.

"We need to keep moving, I do not wish for any of us to become lunch." He had no idea of how many turns he had taken and now they were in complete darkness.

"This way!" Luke seemed to know where he was going so they gladly followed, there was at least one set of scrabbling feet catching up to them. They were doing well, Hershel was beginning to think he recognised the way they had come thanks to his eyes adjusting slightly but it appeared his hopes were premature.

A loud yelp ran out and Luke suddenly disappeared from in front of them. Emmy came skidding to a halt at the edge of a large hole and Hershel nearly fell in. "Luke!"

The boy was holding on with both hands to the edge, he had just managed to hold on. The two stooped to pull him to his feet, the poor boy so scared he clung to Emmy for a few moments once his feet were on solid ground.

"Emmy, take him-" In the haste to rescue Luke they had forgotten all about the dufferin following them. The creature launched itself onto the back of the crouched Professor, knocking him back into the hole.

Hershel caught hold of the edge with one hand but the dufferin was gripping onto his other arm, suddenly realising it's own fate if it fell. He could feel those claws digging into his flesh through his clothing and it took all his strength not to shout out, instead trying to shake it off. He slammed it back into the wall of the hole and it let go, stunned. The silence was deafening until finally there was a sickening thud at the base of the hole. Would that be his own fate? His arm was almost numb with pain now, no use for pulling himself up. And he wasn't entirely sure Emmy had the strength to pull up his weight.

* * *

_As per a request, I shall reveal my inspirations for the dreadful killer dufferins. 'Dufferin' is in fact a street name in Dublin city, Ireland, which I plucked off the map when I was waiting in the train station ;)_


	6. Not Letting You Go

"Professor!" He could make out the shape of Emmy leaning over the edge above him and felt her hands clasp around his wrist. "Luke, run for help. Find Madigan!"

They could only pray that they were close to the exit, perhaps Madigan would be able to hear Luke if he shouted as he came near? They were in the dark and Hershel was incredibly close to finally meeting his end, his life hanging in the hands of his assistant who may be strong but quite possibly not strong enough to pull him up. He could not see the bottom of the pit but judging from the time it took for the dufferin to hit solid ground it was quite a drop, surely one he would not survive. Mercifully the ground around the edge of the hole appeared to be dry enough to stop him from losing his grip but he could feel himself tiring rapidly.

"Professor, can you give me your other hand?"

"I don't think so, Emmy, I can hardly feel it. That creature decided to use my arm as a life saving device." He hissed in pain and tried not to move too much for fear of losing his grip. He may even bring Emmy over with him if he were to fall.

"Oh no. Well, I am going to try and pull you up."

"No, Emmy, don't. If you pull me up a little and we were to slip, one or both of us could fall. You should leave me here and go help Luke find Madigan." He heard her snort above him.

"And if I leave you here you will eventually tire and fall to your death. I will not let that happen, Hershel." He was surprised to hear his first name come from her lips and lifted his head to look up at what he could finally recognise as her face. "I am staying here until Madigan comes and we can get your arm checked out."

Her hands tightened around his wrist and he knew that she would not be going anywhere. He actually felt like he was going to get out of this situation now. He had been in sticky situations before but nothing like this, nothing that had scared him quite this much. Normally everything was so high speed, this was agonisingly slow. Minutes ticked by in silence, his fingers gradually slipping further and further off the edge.

"Emmy.."

"Hershel, please, be quiet." She urged softly in the darkness, her hands reclasping around his wrist. Both of them let out a sigh of relief when they heard hurried footsteps and the shouts of Madigan and Luke.

"Layton! Hold on." Madigan crashed to his knees at the edge of the hole and grabbed his hand, pushing Emmy out of the way. "Hold on, we will have you up in no time."

Will one strong heave Madigan had the Professor back on solid ground and out of harm's way for now, Hershel could not believe his luck. One arm was numb with pain, blood dripping from his fingertips slowly, the other arm was aching from holding on for so long. He had no idea where he had gotten the strength from but he was thankful it was over. He rolled onto his back for just a moment before pushing himself to his shaky feet. Madigan automatically went to support him.

"Let's get out of these tunnels and get you looked at." He merely nodded at the man, his attention drawn to his hand when Emmy took it. He gave it a gentle squeeze and continued out with the help of both Madigan and Emmy, Luke trailing closely behind them.

Once outside in the daylight it was easy to see the dirt that covered them all and the blood smeared across the Professor's arm and down his hand. Madigan helped him to the inn where Emmy let them in and together they lay him down on the bed. He complained bitterly, that he would ruin the bed that Emmy needed to sleep in but Madigan physically pushed the man back down. "You need to lie still, Layton. I shall go and tell Ms. Merrin what happened, your friend assures me she can take care of you."

Emmy nodded as she still held Hershel's hand. "I can bandage you up if it isn't too serious."

"I shall take the boy with me to the doctor though, he seems out of it." Luke had been awfully quiet so Hershel was happy for him to be looked after.

"Thank you, Madigan."

"I want to stay with the Professor." The boy protested stubbornly but was no match for Madigan who all but dragged him out of the room.

"Let me take a look at your arm." Hershel slipped his coat off carefully then watched Emmy as she rolled up his tattered sleeve. His arm wasn't too scratched and the bleeding had pretty much stopped. That didn't mean it did not hurt though. Emmy returned with a bowl of warm water from the bathroom and a flannel, using the damp flannel to gently wipe his arm clean. "I am sorry."

"Why? You are helping, it is not your fault that it hurts." He smiled a little,now watching her face as she concentrated on his arm. "Also, you are the reason I did not fall. Thank you."

Her hands paused on his arm and she smiled at him. "I told you I was not leaving you there or letting you go."

He brought his hand to rest on hers for a moment, so many thoughts running through his head. Not to mention so many feelings rushing through him. Eventually she pulled her hand back so that she could finish cleaning his arm and wrap a bandage around the wound. "You should be fine, I shall get some antibiotics from the doctor though. Who knows what that thing had on it's claws."

"Good thinking." He pulled his sleeve down over his arm again, inspecting the torn fabric. This was certainly an adventure so far, he was beginning to think he had had a little too much adventure for one lifetime.

Emmy poured away the bloody water and sat on the bed beside him. She reached over and kissed his cheek, much to his surprise. "I am glad nothing too bad happened to you. I don't know what I would have done." She whispered softly, a shy smile on her features. He could not recall ever seeing her look shy.

"Emmy, I-"

"Professor Layton!"

* * *

_Short one this time, guys, but I am really in the mood to write. So keep an eye out! Aaaand, clicky clicky review? :) Oh, just a note, at this time I don't care about minor spelling mistakes anymore. Word's spell check no longer works so I use an online one.. If it is wrong, I apologise!_


	7. Personal Mystery

_So, I had this up before and took it down. But now, I present to you, a beautiful picture set in Chapter 3 by Zilla! Now this is my little present so if anybody steals it out there, NO MORE FICS FROM ME. Got it? Good. Now, the link is on my profile. Go looky!_

* * *

The interruption could not have come at a worse time, stalling Hershel when he was about to finally speak up about his feelings. The door swung open without so much as a knock and young Ms. Merrin rushed into the room with Madigan hot on her heels. He judged that she must have run the entire way from her home on the hill as she looked quite flustered and had crossed the village in record time. But really, she could have knocked, regardless of how worried she was about his safety. To his immense dissatisfaction Emmy got off the bed, her head hung low.

"Ms. Merrin." He greeted warmly, fighting the urge to kick her out but there was no point, he could not rewind time. And he was a gentleman so he would not make a big deal of it. Externally.

"Madigan came and told me what had happened. Are you all right?" She rushed to his bedside nearly knocking Emmy over. The brunette just stepped aside, muttering a soft apology. It was so unlike Emmy to just move out of the way quietly that Hershel was a little worried about her. But the newcomer was still fussing over him.

"Yes, thank you."

"Your arm!" She gasped, lightly touching the shredded sleeve. He was thankful she did not touch his arm for it still hurt quite a bit.

"Yes, I know. But I am alive and Emmy has taken good care of me." He offered his assistant a smile but she barely even looked at him. She was half hidden behind Tonetta anyway. It appeared that the younger woman was intent on fussing over him and making sure that only _she _could get near him. The woman sat on the edge of the bed and he did have to say that she looked terribly distraught. Thinking about it from her point of view it was a worrying situation. She had asked for his help and he had nearly died below her village in his attempts to help her. As if the young woman did not have enough on her plate already.

"I feel terrible about it all, I should have sent some members of the guard with you. Some protection against those foul things."

Hershel hesitantly placed his hand on her arm to catch her attention and, sure enough, her head snapped round to look at him. "I do not want you to be upset over this. It is one of the hazards I have to deal with." _Although I am not attacked by wild abominations every day, look at those things!_ "All I want is to check on my young apprentice and continue on with my investigations in the morning."

"Ah yes, Master Triton is with the Doctor." Madigan piped up from the doorway. He had respectfully stayed just outside the room. "The Doctor wishes to keep him overnight but he assures me the boy will be fine."

Hershel was relieved to hear that Luke would be perfectly fine, no doubt he had just received the fright of his life but there had been no harm in checking. "Thank you, Madigan."

"Not at all, Professor. I shall take my leave." He nodded at the three and left, closing the door firmly behind him.

"I think I shall go for a walk, get some fresh air after being down in those tunnels." It was the most Emmy had said since they had been interrupted and he immediately opened his mouth to protest her departure but Tonetta beat him to the punch.

"Before you go, Miss Altava, I would like to invite the two of you to dinner at my home this evening. It is the least I can do after all you, and your apprentice, have done for my village. And will do. You have done more in the short few days that you have been here than I have been able to do in a considerably longer period of time. I owe a lot to you."

Hershel watched as Emmy paused in her gathering of her things to look at the other woman. He could see her turning down the offer and walking off, there was something about the look in her eyes that gave him that thought but Emmy was usually far more polite. What was it that had made Emmy act so out of sorts?

"I would be delighted to attend." She finally answered with a smile on her face. Her eyes drifted to him and he smiled a little. There was something going on and he wanted to know what.

"As would I."

"Perfect!" Tonetta rose from the bed and crossed to the door where she paused to give the pair some final instructions. "Dinner is at seven so I shall see you any time after six. Good afternoon."

The door was barely closed before Emmy announced she was going to have a shower and locked herself in the bathroom. Poor Hershel was left sitting on the bed, alone, and completely with no clue as to what was going on with his assistant.

XXX

The clock that hung on the wall of their room read a few minutes after six and he was still sitting patiently on the chair Luke had claimed as his bed. Emmy had allowed him the time to shower and clean up before vanishing back into the bathroom to get ready for dinner. He had a feeling that she was just avoiding him and in such small quarters the only place she could avoid him was in the bathroom. He was just as clueless as to what was going on but he had a hunch that this meal would reveal some answers to him. Now he had another mystery on his hands and this one was far more personal.

After his shower he managed to change his bandage somewhat successfully on his own and dressed in his final clean outfit whilst he waited. He held his torn shirt in his hands, examining the clawed sleeve over and over again. He could hardly believe that he had escaped with such small injuries. Judging by the damage done that creature could have ripped the majority of the flesh from his forearm with very little effort. He put the destroyed clothing aside and rolled up his sleeve to look at his bandage.

"Don't play with it." Emmy's voice surprised him, he hadn't heard the door open. "You don't want to hurt yourself or upset it."

"I don't think I did as good a job as you did.." His bandage was not as tight or neat as hers had been.

"Honestly.." She softly scolded and took his hand. She pulled him to the bed where she sat beside him to fix the bandage.

"Emmy.." Only now had he taken the time to look at her. She was wearing a dress, an actual dress! He had no idea where she had gotten it from but she looked amazing in it. Her hair was the same as always but he could see a little make up on her face. "You look.. Absolutely beautiful."

A light blush tinted her cheeks and he felt her hands falter in their movements. One of her hands lightly rested on his arm and she lifted her head to meet his eyes. "Thank you, Hershel.."

There it was, his first name again. Before she had used it to convey how serious she was but right now it was so soft. It sounded like pure heaven to him, his name coming from her lips. He placed his hand lightly over hers and ran his thumb across the backs of her fingers. He watched as her beautiful dark eyes flickered down to their hands then back up to his own. The gap between them was so small that his lips were brushing over hers before he even knew what he was doing. He was taking a leap of faith but he didn't care if he tumbled over the cliff head first to his death, he would die a happy man.

"Hershel.." This time it was a whisper and she moved closer to him to press her lips against his. Her hand touched his cheek as she withdrew from the brief kiss. "We should get going or we shall be late for dinner."

She finished wrapping the bandage around his arm as if nothing had happened, leaving him in quite the stunned stupor. She took his hand and gently tugged him to his feet.

"Earth calling Professor Layton.." She gently called in his ear, hooking her arm with his. "If you don't wake up you are going to walk into the door."

And he very nearly did.

* * *

_So, another chapter at last. Not as long as I would have liked but I kept getting distracted by the fencing on the tv. I hope you guys enjoy this, I should have the next one up a lot quicker than this came out. I do love reading your reviews.. :D_


	8. Dinner

"Ah, Professor Layton, it is a pleasure to see you. And Miss Altava. Please, do come in. Ms. Merrin is waiting for you in her study, dinner shall be served soon." Anton dipped his head to the pair before stepping aside to allow them butler closed the door after they had entered and led them through to the study. Hershel's hand hovered over the small of Emmy's back as they walked side by side.

He dropped his hand to his side when they arrived in the study, Tonetta Merrin was standing before one of the bookshelves that stood behind her desk. She was wearing a beautiful dark dress that clung to her body in all the right places, showing off a curvaceous figure that any man would drool over. He noticed but he did not comment, merely smiling as the woman turned.

"Good evening, Professor. Miss Altava." He felt Emmy stiffen beside him and the action confused him. Why was she so tense around Ms. Merrin now?

"Please, call me Hershel. We are dining together. I must say, you look lovely this evening."

"Then I think it is only fair you call me Tonetta this evening." The younger woman looked at Emmy who eventually nodded, signalling her first name was to be used also. She did not speak, had not done since they entered the building. "And thank you."

The kiss was still fresh in his mind so he was still ridiculously happy but Emmy's behaviour around Tonetta had caught his attention yet again. He wanted to know what was bothering her so much but now was not the time to ask her. Perhaps when they returned to the inn later that evening. Tonetta gestured for them to follow her into the dining room where the three of them were seated. Hershel opposite Emmy, Tonetta at the head of the table. The dinner was pleasant, the food excellent and the conversation flowing. It also appeared that Tonetta had quite the interest in Archaeology which meant they were not wanting for conversation, even Emmy joined in.

But the woman excused herself and Hershel rose as she left the table. She flashed him a smile as she passed by him, her hand briefly brushing his own. The small exchange between the two was missed by the hostess but once Emmy left the room she spoke up.

"Whilst Emmy is away would you like to see the view of the town?"

"I would love to."

"We have a balcony, come, follow me." Tonetta led the way through the dining room to another study, one she told him was Petyr's before he left. The study had a balcony which overlooked the village below. With all of the water that littered the town it reflected the moonlight beautifully.

"This is a wonderful view.."

"This used to be my Father's study, Petyr inherited it when Father died but did not want it. I had my own at that point so I only use it for the balcony." She walked right up to the railings and rested both hands on it. Hershel stepped up beside her.

"You don't realise how high this hill truly is until you are up here."

"Or if you are hurrying up the hill." She laughed softly, indicating she had done it many a time. "It is easy when you are a child but it gets harder, even at my young age."

"At least you get the beautiful view." His hands rested on the rails.

"Yes.. And it would be a terrible shame if my poor village fell to ruin. Things being stolen, people disappearing, buildings! And those evil creatures, I don't even know where they came from! They don't look natural in any way."

"Mm, I agree. But I am confident that we will find the source of all of these problems. I believe it lies behind that strange door, down in the tunnels. We must find a way to get behind that door."

"Door?"

"Ah, yes, I forgot to give a report on what we found." He laughed softly. "We were down in the tunnels and moved down a side tunnel to find this door that looked awfully new. It had a large padlock on it, there was no way I could get through it without tools. But it seems something is going on down in those tunnels as Madigan told me he hasn't open the door for-"

"Months, yes. I hold the keys, he has to come and retrieve them. That is quite troubling by the sounds of it. I shall make sure Madigan delivers blue prints to you in the morning, so long as you can remember your way."

"I can. It would be great to be able to see what is behind that door. Then we can worry about getting inside it. I truly believe that door is the key to what is going on. Those dufferins were hiding down there.." He absent mindedly rubbed his arm. "They have to come from somewhere."

"I believe you will help us. I have faith in you." Her hand came to rest on his arm and she flashed him a dazzling smile.

"Thank you." He lightly patted her hand, not quite sure of where this was going. His eyes widened in shock when suddenly her lips brushed his, not even going for his cheek. So _that_ was why Emmy was acting so out of sorts, she could see the younger woman's interest in him.

"Ms. Merrin.." He started softly but did not get very far.

"Excuse me, Tonetta, but it is time I got the Professor back to our room. He had a busy day." Emmy's voice sounded from the doorway and he turned to see her arms folded over her chest. He didn't doubt that she had seen what had happened and it appeared she was rescuing him. Or she was getting him away from the woman so she could beat the living daylights out of him, either was plausible.

"Ah, yes, my apologies. Good evening.." Tonetta dipped her head and left the two on the balcony.

"Emmy, I-"

"Come on, let's get you to bed." She took his hand with a small smile.

* * *

_Another short chapter but at least there is something coming out of my brain :P I hope you enjoyed it, next time we shall be continuing on with the adventure!_


	9. Family Tree

Hershel Layton was one lucky man, perhaps even the luckiest man in the world. Not only had he received a kiss from the beautiful Emmy Altava the previous evening but they had shared the same bed last night. Well, in truth, that was nothing new as they had been sharing the bed for the last few nights but this particular night they had spent snuggled up in each others arms. It had been a very pleasant sight to wake up to, Emmy's head resting on his chest as she slumbered peacefully. And this time it was all intentional.

Once his vision had cleared of the haze of sleep he was able to clearly see her beautiful face as she slept in his arms. Her chest rose and fell with each soft breath that escaped her, she looked so peaceful. So unlike his Emmy who was a fighter and always rushing off into situations. No, this was his beloved Emmy, sleeping peacefully in his arms. He would never grow tired of her body resting against his own.

He was reluctant to wake her just yet as he had always been an early riser and doubted he would manage to get back to sleep now. He carefully moved himself out from under her, pressing a light kiss to her forehead.

"Hershel.." She mumbled sleepily, reaching out to catch him by his pyjama top. He smiled and placed his hand over hers.

"Go back to sleep, Emmy. I am going for a shower." He pried her hand off of him and laid it back down at her side.

"I don't want to get up yet.."

"I know, you don't have to. I already said, go back to sleep." He leant over her and kissed her cheek, pulling back to see a smile on her lips.

"Morning Hershel." She yawned and rolled over with her back to him, drifting back off to sleep. He laughed softly and left her to sleep whilst he went and had a shower, bringing his clothes into the bathroom with him.

His thoughts should have been filled with the case at hand but every single time he got into the details of the case his mind would drift off to Emmy. He was just so happy. But once he was actually working on the case again, with Emmy by his side, he was sure that he would finally be able to concentrate. Because if he didn't there would be a very serious problem that would have to be addressed and it would break his heart to have to choose.

A quick shower later and the Professor was fresh and ready to go, pulling on his trademark suit. He had just tightened his belt and was going to pull his shirt over his head when he heard a loud banging noise from the main room. After all that had happened in this place there was barely a moment's hesitation before he burst out the door, his orange shirt abandoned on the tiled floor.

"Professor!" Luke exclaimed loudly from the door which he had evidently thrown open upon entry. "Look what I found!"

"Luke! Emmy is sleeping!" He kept his voice low in a vain attempt to try and salvage his assistant's lie in but one glance to the bed revealed a dozy but awake Emmy. "Or, she was.."

The woman blinked a few times and was confronted with the sight of a half naked Professor. He didn't notice until Luke finally spoke up.

"Professor, shouldn't you finish getting dressed?" The boy smiled at Hershel who suddenly realised his lack of dress. A blush tinged the man's cheeks and he vanished back into the bathroom. He made sure that he was fully dressed before he came out of the bathroom again, placing his top hat on his head.

When he stepped out of the bathroom Emmy rushed in, passing him without a word. The door was firmly closed behind her and Luke merely shrugged, not sure what had gotten into Emmy but he was only a boy after all. "So, Luke, would you like to show me what you found?"

"When I was with the Doctor he gave me this book to read so that I didn't get bored. It's a book on the history of the village and it has some interesting information in it!"

Luke produced an old, tattered book from his satchel and handed it to Hershel in favour of a piece of fruit. Hershel examined the cover, the title was embossed in gold but half worn away. 'The history of Mespil.'

"What an imaginative title.." He flipped open the cover and scanned through the contents page. "What exactly am I looking for, Luke?"

"Oh! Hfm.." He paused and swallowed the apple he had been munching on. "Page twenty four, it's a family tree for the original families of this town. Look at the very top of the tree."

Hershel flipped open the book at page twenty four and found a family tree that spread down the page and onto the next. The tree spanned hundreds of years but two names sat at the very top. 'Rast Merrin' sat atop the left column and a man by the name of 'Grim Shir' sat on the opposite column. Rast Merrin could only be Tonetta's ancestor, one of the founders of the village. But what interested him was the story behind these two men as there was only one old family left in this village. What became of Shir's ancestors? He turned the next page and found that the family trees dropped off about one hundred years ago. And there was an asterisk beside the name of each and every Shir from two hundred years ago onwards.

At the bottom of the page the asterisk was explained and Hershel read it aloud to both companions, Emmy having come out of the bathroom refreshed and ready to go. "The Shir family was exiled from Mespil but it's history is still strong here."

"Who are the Shir family?" Emmy sat on the end of he bed to pull on her boots.

"A man named Grim Shir founded this village along with Ms. Merrin's ancestor, Rast. They were the two oldest families in the village but it seems the Shirs were exiled around two hundred years ago. I am interested to find out why that was. And to see the rest of this family tree.."

"I am sure this town has a records office, they are very proud of their past."

"Emmy is right. We shall head out there now, they will probably have those blueprints we are after also."

"I shall hunt for the family trees whilst you boys find out what happened to the Shirs and locate the blueprints?"

"Sounds like a plan."

XXX

"Oh, did you hear about poor Arnic Shir? He was there one day, gone the next!"

Hershel frowned, it appeared that the people of the town were still reeling from all of these disappearances that had plagued them. It hadn't been difficult to track down their records office in the library and once in the door the trio stopped to receive their orders.

"Luke, you look for the blueprints. The most recent ones you can find, we need to confirm if that door is new or truly is just a part of the tunnels. Emmy, you're looking at the family tree for Shir in the last one hundred years. And I shall locate the reason why the Shir family were kicked out of this town. Everybody ready?"

Each went their own directions. With help from the woman behind the desk, Luke found the store of blueprints quite quickly. It was now down to looking through them all and finding the most recent date. It seemed that the last person who looked at them had no left in date order, or any logical order for that matter.

Emmy didn't need any help in finding the records, she just had many many records to go through. For a small village they had many families and, again, they were not organised in any way. The folders were a mess so she set about putting them in some form of alphabetical order for the next person who came along to view them.

Hershel had the most difficult job. Trying to find records from two hundred years ago as to why somebody left the village would be quite difficult. But he hoped that, due to the high standing of the family in the village, that the departure would have been well documented. But where to start? He honestly had no idea but perhaps the best place to start was the record of old newspaper headlines. The village had a system where the headlines were all kept in a folder and each headline had a corresponding article in another folder. But finding one so old was problematic.

**ALDER SHIR AND FAMILY EXILED FROM MESPIL**

Bingo. The folder had a handwritten account of what the article had stated, the original kept in carefully monitored conditions in storage somewhere. But this was all that he needed. He carried the folder to one of the long tables down the middle of the library and started to read.

'_Last week we were all shocked to find out that Alder Shir had been conspiring against our beloved village. This news came as a shock to us all as Shir's ancestors were half of the founding force of this village in the first place. _

_Grim Shir and his best friend Rast Merrin were avid fishermen and had long left their home town. They were young and ambitious and stumbled across a swampy area ripe with the fish we now know as the Amalur fish. They set up our little town of Mespil and soon had a flourishing community of fishermen and farmers. That was several hundred years ago, and whilst the Merrins stay true to the village we bring you the chilling truth of Alder Shir's actions._

_We all know that the man loves his odd creatures but it seems that the mad man was attempting to breed his own monstrosity which would wipe out the Amalur fish for good! The poor fish would not stand a chance against the creature described in Shir's drawing and notes. The Merrin household took it upon themselves to examine the evidence as the two families had been friends since the beginning, and deemed the actions worthy of exile from the village. _

_This Tuesday gone Alder Shir left with his wife and two sons, to where we do not know. But let us pray that these plans never see the light of day again.'_

"Well this is worrying news.. Could these be the early plans of the Dufferins?" He checked the date and returned the folder to it's place. It was time he found his assistant and apprentice. Luke found him, all excited that he had found the correct blueprints. He placed it down on the table and weighed down the edges with books.

"Here, Professor, here is the tunnel where we entered. And we went this way." The boy traced the path with his finger and finally stopped. "Here, this is where that door is. It blocks this place."

Beyond the point where the door had been built lay a large rectangular area. The use of the room was unclear but what worried him was the tunnel access out of the other side. Hershel traced the tunnel back, choosing one route after the next. The news was rather disturbing.

"The back tunnel leads to the fishery, the Merrin manor and outside the village walls. This is where the Dufferins are coming from, I am sure of it." Hershel shook his head. "This is bad news. It appears that the Shir family were exiled from this town because one man, Alder Shir, was planning to try and breed a creature that would wipe out the Amalur fish completely."

"I am afraid I have worse news, Professor." Emmy appeared, carrying an armful of family trees. She laid one down over the blueprints and pointed to the final name on the list. "It seems the town kept tabs on the Shir family after they left. And this is the current living descendant of your mad man, Alder."

"Arnic Shir.. The town's missing scientist."

* * *

_I finally got it out! I know where I am going with this now so I should be able to move on with the next chapter a lot faster than this one came out. At least it is a little longer! And Zilla, the beginning was for you ;)_


	10. Behind the Door

_So, a few days ago I did a restart of my laptop, returning it to factory settings in an attempt to fix some of the problems it has picked up. No luck. As a result of this restore, my Microsoft Word is back to not working (and generally ticking me off) so this is written in wordpad. As a result, I have no idea how many words it is until I finally upload it so apologies if it is a little short! And, again, back to the online spell checker to make sure I didn't make any painful mistakes. _

_Onwards!_

* * *

"You mean to tell me that Arnic, our quiet little scientist, is the man behind this whole horrible ordeal? Why on earth would he want to destroy our village?! He has lived here for years. He has done nothing but help our people. He and our doctor work together to keep these people safe!" Tonetta Merrin was distraught and pacing before her guests. He had known this news would upset the young woman but he had had no other choice but to tell her.

Arnic Shir was their prime suspect in all of this, he had thoroughly researched the dufferin creatures and had a family history of attempting to mess with nature and create something unnatural. But it didn't sit right with Hershel. If Arnic truly had created the Dufferins it would not explain everything else that was going on. Why would he have stolen items and then kidnapped people? It didn't make sense but one thing was blatantly clear, he needed to find the man and speak to him.

"We don't know this for sure, it is simply looking like that at the moment. I cannot say anything for sure." He attempted to calm the woman but she seemed to be having none of it, shaking her head at him as she continued to pace back and forth.

"The village will be devastated to hear this. I don't know how I am going to break it to them.."

"Hershel.." Emmy touched his arm and leant close to him to whisper beside his ear. "We need to calm her down. We don't want to turn the entire village on this man just because of what his family did many years ago. We have no solid proof yet, wait until we get into those tunnels."

Emmy was right so he crossed the room and caught the pacing woman by her wrist. He steered her to the chair behind her desk. "Please, sit. And now you must listen to me. We do not know anything for sure, we are simply keeping you up to date. I do not want you to tell anybody else until we have solid proof, it would not do destroying a man's reputation because you are scared for your people. Let us check the tunnels again and we shall come back to this."

The young woman looked at him for a long time and he could almost see her trying to decide what to do. There was a look in her eyes that worried him she may continue with her plan to tell everyone it was Shir. "Alright, I will keep it to myself. But please, Professor Layton, hurry. I am worried for the missing people and the ones who remain are scared that they will be next."

"We are heading into the tunnels after we leave here. This time Madigan has agreed to escort us with one of his men, both men will be equipped with lamps and their batons."

"I would send you with a sword, Professor, not a fencing one either. This is sharp and ready to take out those creatures."

He appreciated the offer, they were in desperate need of adequate protection. Madigan and his man would be helping him open the door then they would stand guard in the tunnel. A sword would be of great use to him once they were inside the room, in case there were more of those damned creatures within. "Thank you, Ms Merrin."

XXX

"You look like an old warrior with that sword, Professor!" Luke sounded incredibly excited considering the task ahead of them but Hershel was pleased the boy was not afraid of going back in. He had attempted to leave him behind in the safety of their room but it appeared the boy was truly having none of it.

"Thank you, Luke, if only I had some armour too?" He laughed with the boy and double checked that the sword was secured at his waist. He prayed that he would never have to use it but it was nice to have something to protect himself this time.

"You ready to go, Layton?" Madigan grunted, a smaller man by his side but no less threatening in appearance.

"Yes, we are ready. You have some other lamps for my little companion here?" Madigan handed Luke the spare lamp before he and his companion laid theirs on the ground.

"This is.." He grunted with the effort it took to move the door with the unnamed companion, leaving the heavy door resting open. "This is Tom."

"Lead the way, Professor." Tom gestured after fetching the abandoned lamps.

Madigan lead the charge with Hershel, lighting the way in front whilst Tom and Luke lit the sides, Emmy walking between the two. They followed the exact path they had taken before and found themselves before the door in no time. And were confronted with the heavy duty padlock.

"I have some tools here, move aside Professor." Madigan strode up to the door and left the lamp at his feet. He first tried bolt cutters but the padlock was simply too thick to snap, even when Hershel helped push the arms of the cutters together. All they were rewarded with were sore hands. But thankfully the man then produced a dwarfed sledge hammer. One, two, three blows and the padlock broke apart, clattering to the ground. He unhooked the rest and stepped aside.

"Now we just need to heave the door aside." It took the three men to move it out enough for entry. The only conclusion he could come to was that it was not designed to be opened from this side. But one man could open it from within. That led him to believe this was not a used entrance, probably just a way to block off the tunnels beyond.

"Be careful in there, you three, we will be right here. We have enough oil to last an hour, each, including the lad there. And I have one spare can with enough to get us out if we run out of time. In other words, be quick." Tom had already turned his back and was watching intently for any sign of Dufferins, his baton out ready to defend.

"We will, thank you Madigan." The guard turned to his post beside his friend and Hershel cast one last glance at the diligent pair before entering the room. "Stay behind me, you two."

Thankfully the pair did as they were told, for once, and allowed Hershel to enter the room first. The room was dark within but several lamps hung on the walls, unlit. He could hardly see a thing and seeing as he didn't hold a torch he called for Luke to hand his over. His free hand rested on the grip of his sword in case he really did need it. The room appeared to be empty of all living things so he encouraged the others to join him.

"Light the other lamps so we can see what is going on." Several lamps flickered to life and the room was fully revealed to the trio.

A normal sized door stood at the back of the rectangular room, made of what looked to be solid steel. It amazed him as to how somebody had gotten all of these materials down here and forged such items but he doubted he would ever find out how it all occurred. Bad guys were not known for spilling every piece of information to do with their plans.

The walls were lined with several sketches of various objects, some similar to Shir's sketches of the Dufferins that they had removed from his offices. But they looked like the person who drew these pictures was not the same as the creator of the previous sketches. And there weren't just pictures of the dufferins, they were sketches of numerous other creatures from ones he recognised to ones Hershel prayed did not exist. They looked vicious.

The left wall was lined with heavy tables, covered in remarkably neat stacks of papers. A lot were covered in writing whilst many were even more drawings. This time of some strange machines the purpose of which he could not decipher. He placed the lamp down beside at stack and started to flick through the papers.

"What is this place? There is just so much information." Luke was looking over the drawings on the wall and pulled down one of the particularly vile looking creatures. "Do you think that these things have already been created?"

"I really hope not. We have enough trouble with the first creation, we do not need another.. Or several others actually. It's already gone against nature as it is." Hershel was trying to pull out a few pages that he could keep, making a silent prayer that nobody would notice the pages missing. They didn't seem to be in any particular order as far as he could tell.

"What should we take, Professor?" Emmy was at his side, looking at what he was examining.

"I will pull out a few pages to take, we can compare the writing and drawing to the style of Arnic Shir. You have your camera?" She raised the item from around her neck. "Take picture of all the pieces on the wall and of the door leading out of here, as many as you can. Luke, hold the lamp up for the pictures."

He wanted to spend as little time in here as possible whilst gathering as much information as he could. The door at the back was interesting and he was itching to look behind it, but that meant he may open them up to danger. He rolled up the few pages he had stolen and tucked them into his coat. "Emmy, are you finished?"

"Just one more- Got it! I will find somewhere in the village to develop these. Luke, let's go." Emmy ushered Luke from the room after turning off all of the lamps. It was just a matter of hope that they had cooled before anybody entered the room.

Hershel stood before the door, examining it thoughtfully. The handle was right there and there appeared to be no lock on it. From what he had read of the blue prints there would have been no reason to lock this door was the only access to what lay behind was through the heavily padlocked door they had broken down. He patted his pocket to make sure he had a replacement, it would do for aesthetics for what he hoped was just long enough to solve this mystery. He reached out to touch the door handle, ready to pull it when a horrible noise made him freeze.

"I think they are on the opposite side of the door.." He whispered softly, mostly to himself. "Out, everybody, close up the door!"

As soon as he was back in the tunnels Madigan and Tom pushed the door closed behind him. Hershel handed them the lock and Madigan stuck it back in place. The group made a hasty exit, not wanting to meet any creatures nor their master.


	11. Luke's Observations

It was late, far too late to still be up, but Hershel just couldn't find sleep. He had left Emmy slumbering peacefully in the bed and Luke dozing in his own make-shift bed to take a walk outside. It was upon his return that he noticed Luke's notebook lying open amongst the books he had taken out of the library. The boy was often scribbling things down in his notepad, heaven forbid he found himself without a pen. The boy would hound either himself or Emmy until somebody provided him with a writing utensil. After checking that the boy was still sleeping peacefully he lifted the book and read.

'_Dufferins. Vile creatures if ever I saw them. But somebody needs to record it so I, Luke Triton, shall take the task upon myself!_

_I haven't seen them up close, I don't really want to, but I have seen them a couple of times now and I believe I have seen enough to describe how they look. I am not much of an artist compared to the person who made those drawings on the papers but here goes._

_Claws. Must be several inches long, I saw what they did to the Professor's arm! And teeth.. Ms. Merrin warned that they could strip the flesh of an animal in minutes, like a piran.. pirah.. piranha (the Professor corrected my spelling).'_

He smiled; he remembered when Luke had asked him how to spell the word. He had wondered why on earth he had wanted such a word but he had told him regardless. Beside the explanation of the claws of the Dufferins was a sketch, albeit simple and in pen, of a leg of a Dufferin with three sharp claws. He glanced down at his arm, he had had too much of a hands on experience with those claws for his liking.

'_The actual creature itself looks like a giant newt. It must be about two feet in length and the ones I have seen were all black with dark green blotches up their backs. But they don't look anything like the newts I used to find in my back garden when you look at them up close. Their legs aren't short and stumpy, they are longer with more pronounced joints, like knees and elbows. But they don't have toes, just claws protruding from the ends of the legs._

_The face reminds me of those dragons.. I can't remember the name but I can see them. I saw a picture in one of Father's books. The noses are long, like an alligator or crocodile.. In fact, they could be a mix between a newt and the.. Komodo dragon! That's the name. But it isn't as heavy on its feet as the dragon; it's swift like a newt._

_They have those strange amphibian eyes that are yellow and black, reminds me of a frog. And they have these ruffles on their heads that makes me think they can make the skin flap stand up on end at will. But I haven't seen it..'_

Hershel hadn't realised Luke had observed so much about the creatures. He flicked over the page and found a few more sketches, this time of the creature as a whole. There was one of it looking like a newt but with larger limbs, the front ones still being quite small. So small that Luke had drawn another of the creature raised up on its back legs rendering the little front ones useless. Beside it was scribbled, 'T-Rex like. Roar.'

Hershel chuckled softly and closed the book. "Sleep well, Luke." He placed it back where he found it and finally retired to bed.

* * *

_Just a little filler whilst I settle back into college. I had a request for a description of our favourite critter ;) So here we go._

_Also, I was feeling artsy so here is a photo of 'Luke's notebook'. Type in theredgummybear . deviantart. com in the internet address bar and take out the spaces!_


	12. Uh-oh

_So, college and the work it requires have finally caught up with me and that has made it difficult for me to not only find time to think up ideas but the time to write them up. This was supposed to go up last night but sadly I was too busy.. I was playing Assassin's Creed 3 :P Ah, and a note. Dufferin colour. I changed their colour so many times throughout this story.. So, they come in a rainbow of colours!_

* * *

"There's just too much that we don't know. Somebody is creating these monstrosities. We don't know who, we don't know where and we can only guess why. Nobody has been seriously injured so far," Pain flared up through his arm briefly as though his wound knew it was being spoken about, "but it is only a matter of time before a disaster occurs."

"We know that whoever is making the Dufferins has a sort of office in the village's tunnel system and has so far gotten in and out without being seen. That in itself is surprising in such a small village. You should know well, Luke, it was similar in Misthallery, yes?"

The boy hung his head and nodded. Hershel was alone with Luke in their room as Emmy had volunteered to get their dinner for the night. He could tell the boy was getting a little scared and he didn't blame him. They had ever been in such danger before and Luke would have never come across a creature as vicious as a Dufferin nor one he could not tame. Even he was afraid to be in this village at times.

"Dinner is here, boys." Emmy announced cheerfully as she backed into the room having used her backside to push the door open. She had several boxes piled up in her arms. "Steak pies, chips and peas."

The prospect of food brought Luke back to life and he raced across the room to get his meal. He raced back to the table and cleared off several papers to make room for the box. Who needed cutlery when you were a hungry boy? Hershel shook his head and laughed. "Easy, Luke, you do not wish to give yourself indigestion."

"Mmf, I'll be mfine, Profesher!"

"Boys will be boys." Emmy grinned as she handed over one of the two boxes she still held. It was difficult to find space to sit and eat amongst all the papers in the room so the two of them sat on the edge of the bed, eating off their laps.

"You really know how to show a girl a good time, Hershel." He smiled at her teasing and took her hand in his briefly.

"When we get back to London I shall take you out for a proper meal."

"You will?!" Her face lit up with excitement.

"I promise."

"Promise what?"

"Nothing, Luke." The pair said in unison to the boy who had lifted his head to look at them. He glanced between the two, shrugged and went back to his pie. Hershel could see Emmy trying to hold back her amusement. He was just thankful he had released her hand before Luke had tured.

He didn't know what to call this thing between Emmy and himself but he did know that he didn't want to confuse Luke with it. Even in the short time that the boy had been staying with him he considered the boy as his nephew or at least family. And that wasn't surprising when he thought about how close he had been with Clark when they were younger.

"So, did I miss any big breaks whilst I was getting our dinners?"

"No, we are still struggling through the information. I can't help but feel like I am missing something big, something that is very important, like it is staring me in the face but I cannot see it for the life of me."

"You will see it soon, you always do. It's that brilliant mind of yours!" She tapped a finger against his forehead and he smiled. He was still bothered that he couldn't pin point what he was missing but he wasn't going to let it ruin his pleasant evening.

The remains of dinner were cast aside and the trio returned to work. The room was literally covered in papers and photographs, the ones that Hershel had taken were kept close to him at all times. He was analysing them slowly but properly whilst Luke and Emmy made notes off her developed photographs. Ms. Merrin had requested to see them the next morning and Hershel was determined that they would be prepared.

XXX

The 'borrowed' papers were stored securely inside his coat pocket as they made the long walk up to the Manor atop the hill. This morning he had woken to find Emmy curled into his chest again and it was the most perfect way to wake up. He didn't know how things were going to change when they got back to London but he could at least enjoy their closeness for the times being. He anticipated some awkwardness when it came to their first night back but Emmy was a confident, strong woman. She would let him know what she wanted.

Anton let them into the home and led them into the office Ms. Merrin seemed to live in. Emmy stiffened at his side and took a step closer to him. He quickly dismissed the confusion that was rapidly becoming familiar when the two women were in the same room.

"Professor Layton, I eagerly await your progress report!" The young woman stood up from behind her desk. She looked as worried as ever but slightly more hopeful as each day passed. "Have you made much progress?"

He informed Tonetta Merrin of all the previous day's events and what little they had gathered from the information they had found. Halfway through the discussion Emmy excused herself to go and develop some more photographs, her camera on her shoulder. Not long after, Tonetta got rather cosy with him. Thankfully her attention was drawn to the papers he had brought with them and she took them to her desk to read. She looked several years older as she read through the papers.

"Ms. Merrin?" She had fallen strangely silent since plucking the papers from his hands.

"I.. I know this handwriting. I have seen it before."

"Where?" This could be the big break he was looking for. Maybe he could finally help this poor village.

"I'm not sure."

Needless to say that was not the answer he was hoping for. For a moment he had gotten his hopes but there had been no pay off. He tried not to show his disappointment as the young woman handed the pages back. She kept one in her hands.

"May I keep this page in case it comes back to me?"

A quick glance at the particular page revealed very little of interest so he nodded his permission.

"I will let you know if it comes back to me. Thank you for filling me in on your findings. I am sure you have plenty to get back to. I shall not delay you any longer."

Before he even knew what was really going on they had been ushered out of the home and were staring at a firmly closed door.

"That was strange."

"I agree, Luke. But let's not dwell on it now. Emmy will be developing her photographs so why don't we go and wait for her? We can talk everything through that we currently know."

The walk to Emmy's makeshift dark room wasn't very long but the boys took their time in walking there. They enjoyed a pleasant chat about the beauty of the town before getting onto the subject of the troubles. They continued to debate their information for over an hour after reaching the dark room. It was only when Luke mentioned he was thirsty and the conversation dried up that Hershel realised the time.

"Emmy?" Hershel knocked on the closed door. "Are you all right in there?"

"Professor Layton?"

"Ah, Madigan. Good to see you. What can I do for you?"

The guard rubbed his hands together then shoved them in his pockets. "Well, I was wondering why you were talking to an empty room. Have you lost your mind?"

Hershel frowned. "Empty? But Emmy was in here developing photographs."

"No, she hadn't been in there since last night. Check fer yourself." The guard walked away as Hershel opened the door. Madigan had been right, the room was completely empty.

"Luke, run back to the room and check if Emmy is there." The boy ran off to do what he was told and Hershel jogged after the guard. "Madigan! Madigan, can I just ask, when did you last see Emmy?"

"Well, let's see. I saw Miss Altava last night when I locked up the dark room. I opened it up again for her this morning but she never came back."

"Thank you, Madigan. Sorry to have troubled you."

He wasn't going to allow himself to get worried.. But people had been going missing and he was now worried that that whoever was doing this had found the replacement lock faster than he had anticipated. He started to look for her by going back the way she would have travelled between the Merrin Manor and the dark room. Halfway up the hill he noticed something black amongst the grass on the side of the path. He carefully approached the object and sighed heavily when he recognised what it was. Emmy's camera. The lens was shattered, a piece of glass falling from the camera when he lifted it. Where could she have gone? They were in a relatively open area. A quick scan of the area produced nothing more than a patch of shrubbery a few metres away. As it was the only thing nearby it was all that he had to try.

With her camera slung over his shoulder he approached the patch of shrubbery. There was nothing odd about it until he rooted around in the patch. "A manhole.. This is where they went?"

"Professor?" Luke was panting as he arrived. "Emmy isn't in the room. Is that-"

"Her camera? Yes. I think she was taken into the tunnels via this manhole."

"No! Emmy! Can't we follow them?!" He could hear the panic in the boy's voice and sadly shook his head.

"I can't open it without the proper tool, it's too heavy. And whoever took her knows these tunnels far better than us." Now that he examined the surrounding area he could see drag marks where the cover had been pulled off and back on. There were also a couple of drops of dark red liquid staining a few blades of grass.

"I am afraid I believe that is blood."

XXX

The first thing she was aware of was the dull aching pain in the back of her head. More of her senses gradually came back to her as she was roused from her forced 'nap'. She couldn't see a thing; something dark was over her eyes. No. Over her head. A sort of black bag but not made of plastic. She could breathe through the soft material. The room she was in was far too dark to see a thing through her blind fold. The smell was almost overwhelming. At this point she was getting used to the smell of fish but this odour was at least twice as strong. Now she was awake she had to fight the urge to gag. Her hands were tied behind her back and she was seated on the damp floor of a cold room. She could feel a source of heat beside her and turned to face the warmth. But doing so only earned her a fright.

"Ah, you're awake! I can hear the change in your breathing. My name is Arnic Shir and I am the scientist for Mespil. Welcome to hell."


	13. Blood

_So, two chapters up for two different stories in the same night! Today is my 20__th__ birthday, yay me, so this is a sort of birthday present.. But for you guys.. For my birthday.. Totally makes sense. Enjoy!_

* * *

"Arnic Shir? Why are you telling me your name? Are you going to kill me?" The man beside her yelped.

"Kill you?! W-why would I kill you? It's him you should be afraid of!"

Him? Who was this him? Shir's reaction told her that he meant her no harm but she couldn't be one hundred per cent sure. It could just be some cruel trick by her captor, pretending to be one of the people they had been looking for. After all, she couldn't see, she could only hear his voice and slightly feel his presence by her side.

"Who is this him? Are you talking about the man who grabbed me?"

"Yes, y-yes. Him. Pe-"

Footsteps sounded down what she could only assume were an empty corridor to her left. That's it! She was in the tunnels beneath Mespil. But now the steps were coming closer and Arnic whimpered in fear. The feet came to a stop just beside her.

"I see you have met our new guest, Arnic. Isn't she a fiery one?" There was no response from the scared scientist and Emmy didn't dare move from her position in case attention was drawn to her.

"Oh, come now Arnic, don't be shy. Say hello!"

There was a series of shuffling noises and Arnic's whimpers, followed by a light thud on the damp ground. She could only assume the man had been blindfolded too and that had been the source of the sound, its removal. The man could now see. She shifted uncomfortably on the ground, she felt like she was an exhibit in a zoo of some kind.

"What do you want from us?" She finally spoke up, that Emmy Altava toughness coming out.

"Well, what I want from Arnic is different to what I want from you. Very different in fact. See, Arnic here is a genius. An undiscovered one but still a genius. He comes from a long line of scientists and the oldest family in Mespil besides the Merrins. But then, you already knew that."

She swallowed hard, how did he know so much about their investigation? Was somebody on top working with him? Somebody whom they had told about their findings?

"Now, I need Arnic's brain." The man continued to a backing track of the scientist's sniffles and small cries. "Not in a horror movie sense but in helping with my plans. You, you I want to keep your nose out of my business! You and that kid. And Professor Layton, he has no right to be here and no right to endanger the two of you. He claims to be such a gentleman, would a gentleman put a lady and a child in danger?"

"He wouldn't kidnap two people and hold them against their will!"

He laughed at her and she automatically recoiled when she felt the warmth from his face right up in hers. "I have taken far more than the two of you, Miss Altava. You might as well make yourself comfortable; your precious Professor isn't coming to save you. I will complete my plan and drive you and that damned man out as well!"

There was a heavy thud and Arnic yelped painfully. Heavy, rushed footsteps pounded away from the pair and Emmy let out a sigh of relief.

"You okay, Arnic?"

XXX

She's gone. She's actually gone. She had been taken by the monster that did this to this poor village and now she was at his mercy somewhere in the tunnels under Mespil. How was he supposed to find her quickly in the labyrinth below? He had kept his cool in front of Luke but the moment he was alone his worries got the better of him. It was a miracle that the Dufferins had not killed anybody yet but there was no guarantee the creator had not harmed the ones he'd taken. That included Emmy.

Luke had decided to take a shower after his running around, leaving Hershel alone with all of their gathered information and his thoughts.

But instead of looking through their stuff and trying to find who was doing this he was sitting on the end of the bed they had been sharing, staring at the camera in his hands. It was out of character for him but Emmy's disappearance had brought back memories of Claire's death. He couldn't lose another woman he cared so deeply for, it would kill him. Lost in such dark and depressing thoughts he could feel tears beginning to sting his eyes. Thankfully Luke was ready to re-join him and drew him back to the urgency of the present.

"Come on, old man! We have work to do!" Hershel quirked a brow at the boy who was seriously shuffling through the mass of information.

"Old man? Really, Luke. Not very respectful to your-" He was going to say elders but instead dropped it. "You're right."

He placed Emmy's camera down on the small table and abandoned it there to work on figuring out just who was responsible for all of this. He needed to figure out who on earth it was that he was missing!

An hour was spent searching through information before Hershel started to become frustrated. The missing element was playing on his mind and that niggling voice in the back of his head kept telling him that if he found the piece he would be able to save Emmy. It was taunting him, mocking him. He dropped down the sheets in exasperation and turned to pace around the room. In his sharp turn he managed to catch the table with his thigh. He winced and grabbed his leg but the force had knocked the camera from its perch. His hands darted out to catch it, successfully, but the remaining shard of broken lens fell out and embedded itself in his palm. He hissed in pain and carefully placed the camera back down.

"Professor?" Luke questioned softly.

"I am all right, Luke." Blood was gathering around the wound, trickling out from around the glass. The shard hadn't pierced his hand too deeply and was therefore easy to cleanly remove. He laid the shard beside its home and he left the room to wash his hand. It was in the bathroom at the small sink that realisation struck.

He watched his blood wash down the sink and it suddenly hit him like a freight train. He grabbed some tissue and held it to his hand as he rushed out to his apprentice.

"This is all about blood. I know who is doing this."


	14. Revelations

_So, I have had a few minor issues.. Okay, major issues. I have been completely overloaded with college work, several presentations, essays and reports due in the next three weeks. But no matter what, I always managed to write this down on paper. Secondly, my laptop died. Completely dead, all information lost. This was last Thursday. Friday night my Mum and I browsed eBay and I spent all of my birthday money on a tablet, it was all I could afford. Apparently express delivery means a week later I will be waiting another three or four days for it. I am using an old laptop with a screen which works 50% of the time at best with NO internet connection. All of my internet time is going to college work :(_

_Note: Tablet has arrived, I am back up and running ;)_

* * *

"What do you mean this is all about blood?" The boy was confused to say the least but Hershel was busily searching for their written copy of the village's family trees.

"Bloodlines, Luke. You blood is important if you are of a noble family." The man didn't elaborate further. He was far too enthralled by what he was reading on the paper in his hands. "Luke, please go and find Madigan or Tom. I need to call a meeting in the Merrin household."

XXX

"Arnic, are you all right?" Emmy had asked him the same question several times since their captor left but he had not yet replied. She knew that he was there; she could hear both his breathing and the occasional squeak. This man was definitely not out to harm her, he was an innocent in all of this. He was clearly absolutely terrified. And despite her own bravery in the situation she could feel the chill of fear creeping up her spine. They had been down here for a while now, were there Dufferins patrolling these tunnels? Those creatures wouldn't hesitate in attacking them and she didn't wish to die down here, blindfolded and scared.

"I'm fine." She let out a small sigh of relief when he finally responded to her.

"Did he put your blindfold back on?"

"No." The man squeaked and she heard him shuffling beside her. "No, it's still on the ground. Why?"

"You can see. I need you to take my blindfold off too. Then we can see about getting out of here."

"No! No way, what if he catches us? I don't have a death wish! He isn't hurting me, I'm fine down here." How was she supposed to get through to him if he was so intent on being a coward?

"Arnic, please! I can get us out of here, I'm sure of it. But I can't free my hands with this thing on my head let alone go anywhere or do anything." A long silence followed and she gave up all hope of the scientist suddenly growing a backbone and going against his very nature to help her get them out. But the terrified man surprised her by dragging the bag from her head. He had his back to her as his hands were tied behind his back, this much she could see in the dark. Well, there was more light now than there had been.

Shapes and objects began to form in the darkness and she finally had a good idea of her surroundings. They were being held in quite a large, circular room which was underground as far as she could tell. Two tunnels ran off in opposite directions to each other, on to her left and one to her right. Their captor had vanished down the left tunnel judging by the sounds she'd heard.

"Thank you, Arnic." She struggled to her feet, getting her balance tricky without her arms to help. "We need to find one of the exits to the surface."

"But what about the Dufferins? And our hands? We are bound, in case you've forgotten!" Now that she could see she could make out the tall lanky figure of her companion.

There was still little light in the room but her now adjusted eyes could make out all the normal pieces of anatomy, limbs, a head and his face. The man had a scruffy beard which matched his hair, leading her to guess that they had both once been neatly trimmed. He was in a white coat, the colour standing out in her darkened vision, but it was smeared and stained in numerous places. Rips and tears marred the tails of his coat. The poor man seemed to have had a rough time down here.

"We will find something to cut the ties, I'm sure it won't be too hard. But the Dufferins.. We shall worry about them when we have our hands free to protect ourselves."

She could sense his apprehension but without her blindfold she was more determined than ever to get out. As much as she didn't want to leave without him, she would if it came to it. She wasn't a cruel person but she had to make her escape now.

As it sounded like their captor had taken the left tunnel, Emmy automatically took the right. She only prayed they wouldn't find a Dufferin or their Master several steps down the tunnel. She heard Arnic's soft sniffle behind her, causing her to smile. He was a brave man.

XXX

!I am glad you all chose to turn up at my request." Hershel surveyed the group of people who were all gathered in the foyer of the Merrin household. "Although I am sure that at least one of you has only turned up to make sure I don't think you guilty."

A quiet murmur spread amongst the group and Luke looked up at him but didn't speak. So, Hershel continued with his planned speech.

"I have called you all here today because I have figured out who is doing this. Please, do not get your hopes up. This does not mean we can fix the large issues in this village, please be patient. We are working hard on it. This just means we will have a better chance of finding them."

"Come on, Professor, the suspense is killing me." Madigan spoke up and the pair shared a chuckle. But Hershel's face soon turned serious again.

"I believe I know who is doing this and why they are doing it. And I also believe one of you here has had something to do with it." This announcement set the group off in a series of outraged complaints. He lifted his hands in a silent plea for calm. It took several moments for his action to be recognised but eventually they all calmed once more. "Thank you."

The gathered people still looked unhappy but at least they were all quiet now. Hershel stood at the main doorway to the manor, Luke by his side. One by one in a clockwise direction he addressed the handful.

"Rikka Egest. Assistant scientist under Arnic Shir. Born and bred here in Mespil, you were always interested in science. Arnic gave you a chance to realise your dream without moving from your home town. Adamant, I'm sure, that your friend and boss has not harmed anyone."

"Of course! Arnic wouldn't hurt a fly!" Hershel nodded his head. Despite their earlier assumptions about the man due to his family lineage, he had changed his mind about him. He didn't believe Arnic Shir was the master mind behind this cruel scheme.

"I don't believe Arnic has had anything to do with this, not willingly anyway."

The woman looked outraged. "So you think I've been helping the monster that has been doing this? How dare you!"

Hershel took a large step back when she flew at him, fists flying. Tom and Madigan were on the ball and caught her before she'd had the chance to connect with him. Each guard took an arm each and held the woman in place until she'd calmed enough for him to speak his piece.

"I do not think you had anything to do with it. You have given me no reason to think you guilty. You are innocent."

The woman stared at him in both surprise and relief. The men lightly let her arms go and they returned to their spots in the circle of people. After she'd come to terms with what he'd actually said she smiled and thanked him.

"What is the point of all this? And why am I even here?! I've done absolutely nothing wrong!"

To his extreme right stood the town's innkeeper, now looking rather irate at the situation he had been called into. He looked expectantly at Hershel who just stared back for a while as punishment for the rude interruption.

"I have explained why I have called you all here so I had assumed the point of all this would have been clear after that? But I shall explain, regardless. Each and every one of you has reason to be working with our creator, in my opinion. Not all of you have the same reasons but you all have at least one. Like Ms. Egest. She's a bright young scientist and could easily have been involved with the genetic part of manufacturing dufferins. But she had no reason to do so, this is her beloved village and she wouldn't harm it."

"Is that not the case for all of us? We all live in this village! Have done for years."

"That is true. Although, you weren't born here. You don't have as strong ties to this place as the others I have called here." The man recoiled when he realised he had drawn a considerable amount of unwanted attention to himself. "And I believe somebody has been passing on information. Why else would Emmy be taken? How else would somebody living under the village know about our presence? You have access to our room."

The man frantically shook his head, backing up against the panelled wall despite the fact nobody was advancing on him. "I'd never! I love this village! It is my home!"

Hershel opened his mouth in an attempt to calm the innkeeper down; he didn't really think he'd had anything to do with it, but he was interrupted.

"Enough. I will not see these people placed under your scrutiny." Tonetta Merrin had stepped forwards and had a most serious look on her face. Hershel frowned in brief confusion.

"I thought you called me here to figure out who was doing this?"

"I did. I did not expect you to ruthlessly pick on my people when they have done nothing wrong."

"I-"

"She's hiding something."

"Luke?" He looked down at the boy who had hardly said two words since entering the home.

"She must know either who is doing this or who is helping them as she is taking such offense to you grilling innocent people. Look at her." Luke was right, Ms. Merrin was hiding something and looked incredibly guilty about doing so.

"Tonetta?" He pressed gently, not a man to be mean or aggressive. But once again somebody else cut in.

"She is covering up for me." Anton spoke from the corner of the room.

"This puts a new spin on the butler did it." The innkeeper commented dryly but the others ignored him. Tonetta looked greatly upset and had been silent since Luke had called her out.

"Anton, please.."

"It's all right, Ms. Merrin, I never wanted anybody to get hurt but he had been taking people. We cannot let him continue, soon his vile creatures will kill somebody. We can't allow that to happen." The woman turned away with tears in her eyes. "Professor Layton, I have been listening in on your conversations with Ms. Merrin and have been passing on the information. I never intended for your companion to go missing, I didn't think he would take anybody else."

"Why were you doing this?" Madigan had spoken up and Hershel left the villagers to speak amongst themselves, silently observing the scene as it unfolded.

"It is my duty to serve the Merrin household no matter what is asked of me." This response set the gathered people into a small frenzy.

"What?!"

"The Merrins?! She has been doing this?"

"Are we ever going to be safe?"

Hershel had to interrupt to calm them all down. He held his hands up and everybody eventually fell quiet. "Let the man explain. I believe there is more to the story."

"Indeed there is. loves you all, she would never hurt you. I didn't mean to hurt anyone either."

"If not her then who?" Luke looked up at Hershel in slight confusion. He smiled at the boy and gestured around the room.

"Take a look, all of you, on these walls sit pictorial depictions of the Merrin legacy through its many generations. Excluding all of those who are deceased and Ms. Merrin, who had been with us, who remains?"

Everyone gathered took their time in searching the room's pictures, all except Tonetta and her butler. The woman was visibly struggling with tears whilst Anton tried to comfort her. Quite understandably she was having none of it. Nobody had even thought of asking her, they were too interested in solving their own little puzzle, no matter how simple it was. Hershel approached the woman and she sniffed back tears as she looked at him.

"I'm sorry, Professor Layton, I should have told you when I realised. "

"Why did you hide it from us? It's very important."

She sighed heavily and turned her head away. "No matter what he has done, Professor Layton, Petyr is my brother and I love him."

"He isn't your full brother though, is he?"


	15. Overrun

Tonetta gasped in shock. "How did you know that? Nobody outside our family knows. Other than the staff, of course."

"Well, it hit me when I cut my hand. Blood. All of this is because of blood, to be more specific, blood lines. When I first came here I was pleasantly surprised to find a young woman in charge. Your parents are dead and yet leadership of the village did not go to Petyr. He's younger than you but tradition states that the male descendant receives the land and the female the monies. You got both."

"It's not like I kept money from him." She said defensively before allowing him to continue.

"You told me he was away and that was that. I began to suspect things when you recognised the writing. I could see it in your eyes. But you hid it from me and Emmy was taken." He took a moment to regain his composure. Emmy was going to be fine. He would get her. "He had to have somebody close to the investigation telling him about how close we were getting. That's why he took her. But why would a Merrin attack his own village, risk his own people? Because he isn't a Merrin and he knows it."

She didn't seem as upset now and the other had taken an interest in what he was saying.

"When did he find out he was Arnic's half brother? Or was he even told?" There was a collection of gasps from around the foyer.

"He figured it out. Father never spent much time with him and Mother refused to speak on it. I don't know how he guessed it was Shir who had fathered him but after he correctly guessed he spend more time with Arnic than with me. I think he resented me because I'd always known. But I hadn't chosen to be told! Father did it to try and hurt Mother as she had hurt him, he didn't have the heart to take another woman to bed. Petyr is smart."

"Just like Arnic. He's the smartest man I've ever met, sorry Prof." Madigan flashed him a good-hearted smile. Hershel briefly smiled back.

"That's all right."

"But, Professor, why is he attacking the town? It's not their fault he's lashing out like a spoilt child."

"That's right, Luke, it's not anybody's fault. I believe he wants the town for himself and is determined to take it by force if necessary. The Shirs are a long line of scientists and it seems Petyr has inherited this affinity. I think he took Arnic in order to show off, or bond even. Who knows what is going through his head. But I believe everybody who was taken is safe and sound."

"So long as they haven't gotten on the wrong side of a Dufferin."

"Madigan.."

"Sorry, Professor." Hershel didn't really appreciate his 'helpful' input. He turned back to the gathered group of people and addressed them as whole.

"We do not want this getting out. What was said in this room stays in this room until this is all over. Panic is the last thing we need when dealing with something so dangerous. He wants to put fear in us; it's his chosen tactic for winning this town. Think of a tyrannical dictator using genetically modified monsters to take back his home village. We need to keep calm and figure out a way to deal with this."

Just as he finished speaking the front door opened with a crash and a middle aged man clung to the door handle, panting in an attempt to regain his breath. His other hand clenched at his chest and Madigan stepped forwards in concern.

"John, what's wrong?" Just then a scream came from outside, startling everyone inside.

"Dufferins, sir, everywhere. It's utter madness! The people are panicking. We've been trying to escort everyone. Most people are inside but it's utter madness."

The panic that had been spreading through the village had no reached the house on top of the hill. Almost everybody panicked to some degree all except our trusty Professor and Madigan. The two men looked at each other and shared a worried glance. A mass panic could no longer be avoided and it made things a lot more difficult to fix. The villagers would be hysterical and most likely wouldn't listen so he couldn't rely on their help. He would have to find assistance elsewhere.

"Rikka!" The woman immediately fell silent and turned to him. She seemed to be properly paying attention so he continued. "We need a way to get rid of the Dufferins and we need it now."

"I.. I don't know how to! Whatever you don't have is still in Arnic's office. I don't think we can get there though."

When one looked out of the house they could see the flashes of pink, blue and dark green of dufferins milling around the empty streets, attempting to enter buildings. Thankfully they had yet to travel up the hill with their small legs. It was like a scene out of some sci-fi horror movie. With the scientist's office being across the village it was a very dangerous idea to run through the streets. But if nobody bothered to go the dufferins would continue to rule the streets of Mespil and everybody would be stuck in their homes until the day they died. He had been brought up here to help this village and he was determined to stick to his word and help these people.

"I can make it if I am fast. Where are the rest of his notes stored?"

"You're going to go out there? But, Professor Layton, that is so dangerous." Tonetta looked utterly terrified.

"If somebody doesn't find a way to get rid of the dufferins you might as well hand over the village now. They are everywhere. We need to try. Miss Egest, the notes?"

"I'll come with you." The scientist nodded firmly. "You're right, we have to try. And I know the lab like the back of my hand. You won't change my mind."

Hershel frowned in disapproval, he didn't like that idea. A gentleman did not put a lady in danger. But Miss Egest was a determined young woman and feisty to boot. She reminded him of Emmy. Just thinking of his assistant hurt him deep down. He _would_ save her. "All right, you and I."

"But, Professor."

"Luke, you are not coming. You are going to stay here and protect everybody who remains." There was nothing on this planet that would convince him to expose the boy to this ridiculously dangerous situation. He hoped giving the boy a role of authority would help lessen his disappointment.

"All right, Professor, I'll make sure everybody is okay!" Success.

Hershel and his scientist companion braced themselves as they approached the front door. They would try and sneak past the creatures as much as they could but if something were to go wrong they would have to run. Fast. He didn't want another injury from those vile things, he'd been lucky to survive both of his previous encounters with the creatures. He was concentrating so hard on the plan formulating in his mind that he nearly jumped out of his skin when a large hand landed on his shoulder.

"Layton." Madigan grunted seriously. "Tom and I were speaking. We want to help. We have our batons; we can distract the little buggers if they get too close to you. We know how dangerous it is but this is our village and we will do anything to protect it. We won't be taking no for an answer."

Hershel considered the men for a moment then nodded his approval. He turned to Rikka who looked more determined than ever now. "Ready?"

"As ready as I shall ever be." She nodded at him and the small group braved the overrun village of Mespil.

XXX

"Arnic, keep up." She could hear the scientist falling behind. She had long since lost count of how many turns they had taken, they were well and truly lost under the village of Mespil. She was sure that they were still under the village though as there had been no evidence for the tunnels extending outside the walls. But she honestly had no idea where they were, for all she knew they could have gone around in a large circle. They had not yet encountered the heavy door they had found or the hole Hershel had nearly fallen to his death in. She was just looking for an access hatch.

"When are we going to just give up?"

"We aren't going to give up, Arnic!" She turned to face the shuffling scientist. He stopped and lifted his eyes to hers. "We cannot just give up. We are eventually going to find a way out of here."

"Or we find a dufferin." He concluded, shrugging his shoulders. Emmy just sighed and turned to keep walking. She would find an exit no matter what the sceptic behind her said.

She had no idea how much time passed before the man finally spoke up again but it had to be more than just a few minutes. "Emmy, what are we going to do? These exits are sealed from the outside; I have never encountered one in my life where it hasn't been sealed."

"You need to have a little faith, Arnic, else we shall never get out of here."

"Faith?! I was kidnapped by a madman and these strange creatures have been keeping guard over me, I have been living in fear! Do you blame me for having lost my faith?!"

"Arnic.."

"No, it is completely underst-"

"Arnic!" She waited for the scientist to finally shut up and pointed ahead of her in the darkness. "That is an exit to the surface."


	16. Run!

Emmy was staring furiously at the grate which sat above her head, taunting her. It was probably just out of her reach but not only that, with her hands still tied behind her back she wasn't able to reach up and try to move it. No doubt that grate led straight up onto one of the main streets of the village, perfect for their escape. But unless they found a way to free their hands, the way out would continue to taunt them mercilessly.

"Well, now what do we do? Lot of use that is if we can't reach it!" She fixed the scientist with a firm glare and he lowered his head.

"Now we find something to cut our binds on. Will you please just be useful for once?" She didn't mean to snap at him but he had been getting on her nerves slowly but surely. "Sorry."

"No, no, it's fine. Let's find something sharp we can use."

It took the pair several minutes to search the entire room but ultimately they found nothing with a sharp enough edge to free them.

"There is nothing in here. We shall have to search elsewhere. But we have to be careful not to lose this room. It would be a disaster if we lost it after searching for so long." Emmy was getting frustrated and took several deep breaths to calm herself.

"Well, we can leave the room and only take the left turns. So, we can turn back with just rights if we don't find anything. We can then try just rights?"

"That sounds like a good plan to me, thank you Arnic. We'd best get moving, the longer we are in here the longer he has to find us."

As the scientist had suggested, they started their hunt for something sharp by taking a left turn out of the circular room, coming to another turn and taking another left. And so the pattern continued, adjusted eyes sharply looking for anything that may possibly work for them.

XXX

Hershel stepped out of the manor with Madigan at his side. Behind the pair, Rikka and Tom closely followed. They had formed this set up to keep everybody safe. Rikka was the fastest, Tom and Madigan had weapons.. Hershel was the odd one out, he supposed. But just before they made it too far away from the house they heard the door open and a dark head rushed up to Hershel.

"Professor Layton, take this.." Tonetta Merrin was holding out a sword but it was not the ones they had been using for fencing, not the one he had taken before either. This was a proper sword, with sharp edges.

"Miss Merrin?"

"I want to know you are safe.. It is dangerous out there. Please take it. It will at least give me peace of mind."

He nodded his head and took the sword. He thanked her softly before she dashed back inside to safety. He had nowhere to store the sword but he would want to keep the sword handy if he were to come across a dufferin. Or several, as it probably would be with the state the village was in. He turned to check on his comrades each of whom still looked nervous but somewhat ready to cross the village. He led the way and the small group made it to the bottom of the hill without a problem. Of course, that was the easy part.

He could hear hissing behind him and it put such fear into him that he wished he could turn around and hide from them. But he had to do his duty, he was asked here to help save this town. And he also had to save Emmy, the first step of which was to find the weakness that would help him to defeat these vile creatures. A whimper sounded just behind him and he knew who it was from.

"It's all right, Miss Egest, so long as we keep moving."

"I know, but there are so many of them.. I've counted fifteen so far.." Their voices were hushed in an attempt to keep from drawing attention to themselves and although they were moving quite slowly, they kept moving.

"There's many more than that. I'd say over one hundred and fifty.." Madigan grunted from his side, surveying the road to his side. "The sooner we get across to the lab the better."

The little group moved further down the main street without a single pause. That is, until the ground quite literally shook under their feet. All four of them stopped at the same time, unsure as to what was going on. Was another building going to fall and be replaced with infested water? Was the road going to disappear under their feet? Oh, it was in fact worse. The shaking eventually took a rhythm. Thud. Thud. Thud.

"Professor..?" Tom croaked and he turned to see something out of his worst nightmares. Stood less than one hundred metres back down the main road was a dufferin that had to be more than five times the size of the normal creature. It was huge! It looked like it was pretty fast too; despite its size those muscled legs looked like it could fairly move that extra weight. He didn't wish to attempt to outrun it but from the way the creature was staring at them, he guessed they probably would have to.

With a glance behind him at the empty road which lay between them and the lab they needed to get to. If they were quick, they should be able to make it into the lab before anything caught up with them. But it would literally be a sprint for their lives. He swallowed hard and took a ginger step backwards, raising his sword.

"When I count to three, everybody makes a sprint to the lab." He received a trio of agreeing responses. "One... Two... Three!"

The final word came out as a shout as they all turned on their heel and started sprinting. Rikka and Tom were considerably further ahead than Hershel and Madigan, and were gaining distance with every step. Although he daren't look back, he knew that the monster was on their heels. He could feel the thudding under his feet. The sword was weighing him down but he dare not lose it for fear he would need it later on. If that creature managed to catch up with him, he would definitely need a sharp implement in order to survive the encounter.

"Professor! Madigan! Come on!" Tom had turned to look at them; they were rapidly approaching the lab.

Rikka reached the door first and hauled it open, throwing herself into the safety within. Tom came to a skidding halt at the door and held it open, beckoning the other men in eagerly. His eyes widened as they approached and his hand moved with more speed.

"Get in! Quickly!" The three men stumbled into the lab and Tom pulled the door shut before falling onto his backside. They stared at the door, panting heavily, the whole room positively stinking with fear. Cautiously they got to their feet. The thudding outside had stopped, that was either a good sign or a very bad sign.

"It must have turned away. Gotten bored of chasing us or something." The scientist may be optimistic but Hershel was more of a realist.

"There is no reason why it would have given up before it had reached the door. We were perfect prey, why would it just turn away before it lost us once and for all? If anything, it was gaining on us. It nearly had its prize.. Why would-" As if to answer him there was an almighty blow to the door which rattled its hinges worryingly, causing the archaeologist to jump back from his position near the door.

A second blow immediately followed the first, only this time large, thick claws broke their way through the wooden door. A scream sounded behind him but there was no time to waste. "We need to move something heavy in front of the door!"

"The.. The cabinet! It weighs a tonne; you three will all have to move it together." Rikka pointed to a heavy wooden cabinet that stood in the corner of the room. In an instant it was being pushed along the floor, towards the door. With each blow the door became weaker and weaker, not long and they would no longer be safe. But thankfully the men managed to put the cabinet in place. Only two more blows sounded before silence.

"Do.. Do you think it's gone?" Rikka spoke after nearly two full minutes of silence.

"Let's hope so. Whilst we still have the time, where are the papers on the dufferins? We need that weakness, now." The scientist led them into the office and pointed out several boxes of papers.

"Somewhere in here, there has to be something that will get rid of them." She took the first box and each went through their own boxes. There was no time to waste; people's lives were in danger now.

XXX

"Aha! Emmy, look, this pipe!" Emmy rushed back when Arnic called her name. They must have been searching for twenty minutes by now and still had found nothing. But perhaps that was all about to change. "This pipe is sharp where it has been snapped off. We should be able to use it to free ourselves!"

"Perfect!" Both of them were excited at the prospect of being free, it was literally hanging right in front of their noses now.

In fact, the pipe was indeed sharp enough to cut through their restraints, as well as sharp enough to cut through flesh. Arnic received a small cut to his wrist but it was not the end of the world, there was very little blood even. Once free, the duo ran back to the room with the grate, leaving behind a very small but distinct trail of blood drops, not visible in this dim light but definitely could be sniffed out.

"I can't reach it.." Emmy sighed in frustration.

"No, but I can. Move aside." The scientist reached up and pushed the grate up. It took some force but he managed to loosen it. Another few moments and he had pushed it aside, a large gush of fresh air filling the room. "Right, let's go!"

But before they could move there was a horrible hissing sound from the entrance of the room. A dufferin stood there, poised like an attack dog ready to strike. Automatically they took a step back but Emmy stopped before they passed under the grate.

"Arnic.." She whispered softly. "You can get out.. When you do, I want you to find Professor Hershel Layton and tell him who is doing this and where we are. He will be able to help, I promise. Now go!"

She gave him a soft push towards the open grate. The man took a second to stare at her incredulously before he finally decided to do as she had asked. He jumped and caught the edge of the gap and pulled himself up. He was struggling somewhat so she pushed his feet, trying to help him up.

"Well, well, Miss Altava." A voice called to her and she bristled. "You may have helped Arnic get away, but you do realise you are now stuck alone with a mad scientist? I don't think your precious Professor will be able to save you in time. I shall have to find a suitable way to punish you."

She had no choice but to go with him, there were dufferins filtering in behind him, hissing at her like guard dogs. _Please, Hershel.. Come soon._

* * *

_Took some time but here we are! We are getting there now; will Hershel be able to save Emmy in time? What does Petyr have in mind? Will that giant dufferin get into the lab? You shall have to wait and see ;) _


	17. Torches

_His breath came out in hard pants as he raced through the streets of Mespil, he had to get to the lab, and he needed to do so quickly. There were far too many of them, they were all over the village. He knew how to save them if he could just get into the lab.. _

They must have been searching for fifteen minutes now, each of them taking part of the room to search, but nobody had been successful so far. It would help if Arnic had his notes in any form of normal order but if they were in order, it didn't make sense to anybody other than him. Even his assistant seemed to have no real clue as to where they should be focussing their search. There were several notes on the creatures but nothing with any hints as to how to get rid of them or at least chase them off. He could tell that his companions were starting to lose hope.

A heavy thud on the door caught everybody's attention, striking fear into each and every one of them. Had that giant dufferin gotten bored of waiting for them to come out and decided to try and break its way in to them? Gingerly the four of them moved into the main room and stared at the door. Another thud sounded and Rikka flinched backwards. Even through the cabinet it was a terrifying sound. But not quite as heavy as when the dufferin had been slamming the door.

"Is somebody out there?" Hershel knew it couldn't hurt to ask. A dufferin was hardly going to answer.

"Yes! Please, let me in!"

Madigan and Rom immediately rushed forward to help him move the cabinet from in front of the door. The door swung open and a tall blonde man tumbled into the room. "Quick, close it!"

The three men forced the cabinet back over the closed door whilst Rikka rushed to the man's side. "Arnic! How on earth did you get here?!"

"Arnic? As in Arnic Shir?" Hershel leant back against the cabinet to catch his breath.

"Yes, I am Arnic Shir. I ran.." He pushed himself to his feet and ran a hand through his hair. "I assume you are Professor Layton. Your assistant helped me to escape but I am afraid that Petyr found us. I don't know what he is going to do with her. She saved me, I have to save her. What are you all doing in here?"

Hershel tried to fight the rising feeling of panic. Emmy always had to help those around her and now there was a very real threat, a very real danger that Emmy could meet her doom down in those tunnels. He took a deep breath to try and regain his composure.

"We are trying to find something in your notes that could help us to get rid of the dufferins."

"But your notes are just a mess! How many times have I told you to use that filing cabinet in your office?!" The woman hit her boss in the arm.

"Hey! Well, you don't need the notes anymore. You have me. And I know how to chase them off. They hate fire. They stick to the water because they can swim but also because, underwater, the fire cannot get to them!"

The scientist started to rummage through his cupboards then finally went to the cabinet that blocked the door. He pulled out a couple of jars and some white lab coats. He then went for some of his retort stands and started to unscrew the stick from the base, leaving the arms on them. He tore up the coats and wrapped a thick bundle of the material around five retort stands before dipping them in the jars.

"This is flammable, slow burning. It will make for a torch, better than any sword when dealing with dufferins. If we can drive them to the river they will return to the tunnels. We can then cover the river with oil and set it on fire. There shouldn't be any flammable buildings on the river's edge. Once they are in the tunnels and we have retrieved Emmy and Petyr we can fill the tunnels with flames. We cannot let those vile things live."

"It is a great plan.." Hershel examined the makeshift torch he was handed. "But where will you get enough oil to cover the entire river for an extended period of time?"

"Tom and I will find all the oil we can.." Madigan called as he examined his own torch.

"There are five of us, that means we each need to take one of the main streets of the village and force the dufferins away. There are four so Rikka, you can come with me. Once we have rounded up the most of them, start searching the smaller streets. Scorch a few of them if you can so they will have even more incentive to stay down in those tunnels." Arnic grabbed as many lighters as he had and handed them one or two each.

"But how are we going to enter the tunnels when they are once again overrun by dufferins?" Hershel took the lighter and stored it securely in his pocket.

"We shall go as a group. I owe Emmy my life, I shall do everything I can to help her. More torches." He gestured then nodded to the door. "We are as prepared as we are ever going to be. The time is now. Madigan, Tom, once you two have cleaned out the main streets I want you to raid all the houses and shops for ANY form of flammable material. It has to sit on top of the water. Petrol will be good but be very careful."

The guards nodded in unison, awaiting any final orders.

"I shall tell you when to set it all alight."

When looking at the faces of his companions Hershel came to the conclusion that this side of the scientist was new, even to his friend and assistant. He supposed that being kidnapped and made to feel helpless can do that to a man. He helped Madigan to move the cabinet away from the door and everybody set their little torches on fire. On the count of three, the five of them surged out into the streets of Mespil to cleanse them of the dufferin filth that plagued the poor village.

XXX

She had been marching for what seemed like hours but she knew it could only have been about fifteen minutes. Other than the occasional barked order as to which direction she should turn, her captor had been silent. She could hear the shuffling and hissing of the dufferins at his heels, a constant threat looming over her head. She obeyed or they would take her life. She had never been more terrified in her entire life.

She found herself thinking of Hershel, and even of Luke. He was a young pain at times but really he was a good boy and really quite bright. He had a way with animals and a way with puzzles too. She didn't want to inflict losing her on the poor kid. She could imagine his cute little face stained with tears and that almost brought her to tears herself. She wiped at her cheeks and took a deep breath. Her thoughts quickly turned to Hershel.

There were so many things that she wanted to say to him and she was beginning to fear that she would never be able to say them to him. What if she never got to thank him for all the wonderful times they had together? What if she never got to tell him that it wasn't his fault this was happening to her? That he was right when he said her stubbornness would get her into trouble.. What if she never got to tell him just how much he really meant to her? More than just a few kisses..

* * *

_I have changed the rating up to a T for horror and some more of the romance-y angst-y thoughts. It's nearly time, it's nearly over! :O_


	18. Fire

The streets of Mespil were eerily quiet when they rushed out of the lab. There was a long pause as everybody momentarily lost their nerve but the lack of dufferins helped them all to stay in control. Even Hershel felt like bolting at times. But the news that Emmy was in great danger was enough to keep him firmly planted in place.

"Time to split up. Each of you takes one of the five streets and make sure you check every side road and building in case they got inside. We need to round them all up." Arnic took his assistant and the two headed back the way they had originally came from Merrin Manor. Madigan and Tom took the next two streets leaving Hershel with the final road.

The road was lined either side by houses, most of which seemed firmly shut. That was good; the more people were locked away in their homes the less chance there was of anybody getting hurt. The vile dufferins could easily kill somebody and these people were all innocent. It was not their faults that Petyr had such a problem with his parents. Or should he say a problem with who he was. Each step he took down the road felt like an eternity, the road just seemed to get longer and longer. But he knew it was all just his mind playing tricks on him.

He took in a deep breath and reminded himself that this was for Emmy. And not only did he have the torch but he had the sword if any of them got too close to him. He wasn't a man to get scared easily but these things could strike fear into the heart of even the hardest men and women. He was just a Professor! He was an archaeologist, if somebody had told him he'd end up in this situation when he started college he wouldn't have believed them.

He walked up the path to check the first house, checking that the door was locked before knocking on it. If anybody was inside they would hopefully hear him.

"Hello?" There was a muffled voice from behind the wooden door.

"Hello, this is Hershel Layton. I am just checking that everybody is all right in there."

"Is it safe to come out yet? Those things nearly ate my dog!" He hadn't even thought of the pets which may remain in the village.

"Not yet, soon, I promise. We shall come and get you when it is safe, just stay inside!"

"All right. Please, help us."

Hershel left the door and sighed softly. These people were terrified, rightly so. Just as he was about to go up the path of the house opposite he heard a rustling sound down the side of the house. He gripped the torch tightly and slowly headed towards the source of the noise. There was a bin down the end of a small concrete path that rattled every now and again. With great caution, he used the tip of his sword to push the lid off. A loud screech greeted him and he nearly jumped out of his skin. But nothing came out of the bin. He hesitantly leant over the rim to see what was inside.. And found nothing but a Mother cat and her three kittens. To keep them safe he placed the lid back on the bin, leaving it slightly open so she could come and go. Hopefully she would stay put; it was far safer in there than out here.

But he had been concentrating so much on the cat that he failed to listen out for anything coming up behind him. A low hissing sound sent chills down his spine, dare he even turn around? He had nowhere else to go unless he chose to run around the house. But he could run right into move so it was probably best to just face it now. Slowly, he turned to face the hissing dufferin. It didn't seem to be braced for attack but he was unsure as he didn't know the nature of these creatures. The dufferin let out another low hiss of warning and Hershel observed its amber eyes flickering to the bin beside him. It wanted the cats? Well, he wasn't about to feed some poor kittens to the creature just to escape a little hassle. Cats were beautiful creatures, not chum for some genetically mutated lizard.

He had sheathed his sword and no doubt drawing it would cause a ruckus so, instead, he carefully lifted the bin lid as if to offer up the contents as dinner on a silver platter. As soon as the dufferin made a move to get its head inside he slammed the lid back down, dazing the beast. It staggered back a few steps and was greeted with a face full of fire.

The dufferin let out an almighty screech and went scurrying off down the road. Hershel chased after it to make sure that it headed back into the river. But the noise had alerted several other dufferins to the activity in the main road. Another six or seven came milling into the road from around the sides and backs of several houses. The poor people in those houses must have been terrified. But now all of those creatures were focused on him.

"Oh, bother.." He sighed then dashed back down the side of the house. He dropped the bin lid back on top of the hiding Mother cat and used the bin as a boost for his jump. The house had a balcony at the back and he wanted to get some height on these things. He needed to corral them in one area too. He had to make sure that they all went the correct way.

Bouncing off the bin gave him enough to grab onto the gutter. He had to abandon his torch by throwing it ahead of him, onto the balcony. He had successfully put it out by spinning it fast enough. It landed with a clatter whilst he landed with more of a grunt. The gutter groaned under his weight and he quickly realised he had no time to hand around. He needed to keep moving and get off the gutter before it fell down. He could hear the hissing below as he carefully shuffled along the gutter. Just as the set up gave another groan of almost pain he got one hand on the railing around the balcony. The balcony's rails felt much stronger than the gutter but now his legs and feet were just hanging. He had nothing to support his lower body on.

It would take all of his strength to pull himself up onto the balcony. But, suddenly, his arm gave way, his weight lurching as he was only held up by one hand. He was panting heavily and let out a small whimper when he realised what was wrong. All the adrenaline pumping through his veins had dulled the pain from using his arm in such a strenuous way but it seemed he had succeeded in calming himself so much that the strength afforded by adrenaline was starting to wear off. And his arm had finally given up. When he looked at it he could see blood had soaked through his sleeve in several small spots. Thankfully there was no pain but he had to grab the railing again and cause undoubtedly more damage to his forearm. But if he didn't he would fall and not only risk breaking his legs but losing his life.

He took in a deep breath and reached up to take the railings again. Immediately his hand slipped but he fought hard to catch himself. It took all of his might to pull himself high enough to get a food on the base of the balcony. Now that his legs were involved he could push himself up and over the railings. He sprawled out on the balcony floor, trying to catch his breath.

Now that he looked at it the house had a low roof from which the balcony was built. It was an odd shape but he was grateful, he doubted he could have gotten onto any of the more normal shaped houses.

He forced himself to his feet; he had to find a way to chase off the whole group of dufferins before they split up again. The low roof meant he could walk over the top of it and observe the street below. He leant heavily against the chimney and searched his view for a possible way down. That was when he noticed the power line running from the other side of the chimney. The line ran down to the first floor of a house further back up the road. Perfect! If he could ride the wire down he could herd them all the correct way, back into the river. Now he had a plan.

He climbed back off the roof and down onto the balcony. He picked up his torch and took the burnt end off the metal stand. He would need to replace the material. He pulled the lighter and the fluid from his pockets and set them on the small table. He shrugged out of his coat and reached up to his shoulder. A few sharp tugs loosened the stitches and he could pull the sleeve off in one go. He bit into the material to tear it and finally ended up with two strips of material. He wrapped the first around his arm, using his teeth to help tie the knot. That should keep the pesky bleeding at bay.

The second piece was for making a new head for the torch. He wrapped the material securely around the end but didn't douse it with fuel yet. He put the fuel and lighter in his front pocket and put his coat back on. He checked that the sword was still securely attached to his hip then climbed back to the chimney. Holding the rubber end of the arm he hesitantly touched the metal end to the wire. Even thought it was coated in rubber he wanted to make sure he didn't electrocute himself.

No shock, phew. He rested the body of the metal rod across the thick cable and checked that it would slide before he gripped both ends. He took a deep, calming breath then pushed himself off the rooftop. The metal slid rather smoothly against the cable and he could feel his coat flapping out behind him. He hat was in danger of falling off but he couldn't hold onto it, he needed both hands to hold on. Before he went sliding smack bang into the face of the next building he dropped from the cable by releasing one hand. He dropped gracefully onto his feet, crouching to absorb most of the shock. He straightened, smoothed out his clothing and fixed his hat. That went rather well!

He pulled the fuel from his pocket and doused the end of his torch with the entire contents of the small bottle. It was beginning to drop when he set it alight, replacing the lighter in his pocket. He wielded the torch in his left hand and the sword in his right. An old friend had once taught him how to use his less dominant hand for swordplay. He turned back down the road to greet the dufferins as they came out from between the houses.

One appeared at first then it was followed by the other six in one large mass of hissing, multicolour scales. He whistled and seven heads turned to look at him. The mass started to move towards him until he waved the torch a few metres away from them. Every last one of them stopped, hissing angrily as they slowly backed up. He continued to swing both the torch and the sword at the retreating dufferins. It was slow going but he could now see the river and Madigan and Tom were already standing on the other side with barrels of cooking oil.

With a final hiss they slipped into the river. A quick back glance convinced him that he had scared off all of the dufferins. Just Arnic and Rikka needed to finish their road.

"Well done, Prof! You had more than I did!" Madigan laughed, it seemed this hadn't dampened his spirits. At least somebody was somewhat cheerful.

Hershel smiled back at him then turned to the small man. "How about you, Tom?"

"Ten, sir. Mainly smaller ones though. I heard a lot of them in the road next to mine.." He could tell that Tom was worried but he was sure that the scientists would be okay. As if on cue, a veritable stampede of dufferins came racing down and into the river, two by two and even up to three at a time. The scientists came running down after them with blazing torches waving.

"Is that all of them?" Arnic called across the waters, slightly breathless.

"I think so. That's definitely the majority of them. Should we pour the oil on now?"

They only had three barrels of oil but it should be enough to cover the river and the edges of the large pool where the fishery had once stood. Just. With confirmation from the plan's master the two guards started to pour the barrels' contents into the river. The oil poured into the water then bubbled up to the surface where it settled, ready for lighting.

"When I say, drop your torches into the river. Gently, give the oil a chance to catch." Everybody waited eagerly, watching the oil spread evenly across the river. "Now!"

One by one, five torches were touched to the water level and dropped then the water itself seemed to burst into roaring flames. It was an impressive sight to behold. But Hershel couldn't waste his time watching some pretty fire, he needed to get into those tunnels and get to Emmy. Arnic was by his side all of a sudden.

"I hope you're ready, Layton. It is time to go and find Emmy. I'm assuming you have maps of the tunnels?"

"Yes, I have identified three possible areas where Petyr could have a large set up. We found one of his hide aways but he would have needed much more room to create the dufferins.

"I agree. Let's go and get these maps and Madigan, and make sure we are ready to face the dufferins. Let's put Petry's reign of terror to an end."


	19. 3 out of 4

The room she entered was huge; she could hardly believe that this size a room could fit under such a small village. And she was puzzled as to how they had missed such a massive complex in the blueprints. It then dawned on her that this room must be off the grid which would make her rescue far more difficult. But she refused to give up faith. _Hershel will find me. Arnic got away, he wasn't even chased. He would have found Hershel and they will already be searching for me. Everything is going to be okay. _

She could no longer hold the panic at bay but she could just about stop it from completely overwhelming her. She refused to become a sobbing, blubbering mess. No, she was Emmy Altava, she was a strong woman who could take down a man three times her size with little hassle. But that didn't mean she wasn't allowed to be scared. After all, her life was in danger; those evil dufferins could easily steal her life without much fuss. And there was a very strong chance that she wouldn't get to see Hershel again. That thought alone was utterly heart breaking. If she dwelled on it for too long she knew it would break her completely.

"All right, stop." She got the feeling that he was speaking to both her and the dufferins as they came to a halt as one almost synchronised unit. "Welcome to my 'home' Miss Altava. I do hope you enjoy your stay. None of my other guests have had the privilege to enter this room."

"Are they dead?"

His laugh sent chills down her spine. It reminded her of the mad scientists you see in the movies. "I have never killed anyone and I do not wish to kill people."

"But your dufferins have no qualms about killing! They are wild creatures, you cannot control them!" She shied away as one of said creatures turned and hissed at her.

"Easy, you don't wish to upset my friends here. Or do you?" He flashed her a horrible grin and she felt that dread bubbling up in the pit of her stomach again.

To her surprise the man started to sing as he moved behind her and tied her hands again. This time she could feel the blood being somewhat cut off from her hands. He was singing a song she felt that she knew but couldn't quite put her finger on it. All she knew was that it was old. His parents or their servants probably raised him to such songs.

Once her hands were bound she was led into a corner which a tall metal cabinet made with the wall. She was forced to sit and mercifully was not guarded by any dufferins. No, instead she felt a rope being tied around her ankles making it impossible to move from her spot with any degree of speed. "Don't want you running away again, do we? I have certainly learnt my lesson. You're a tricky one."

She was left alone now, sitting in a corner of this large room with her hope slowly trickling away. The room was massive and half filled with machined and cables. The amount of electricity pumping into the room must have been phenomenal. Where was he even getting it all from? Surely the town above would notice such a surge in their electrical output? So, not only had this room been hidden from the blue prints but Petyr also had some secret way to power his machines. This man had put a lot of thought into his plan; clearly he had had this idea some time ago. If she wasn't so securely tied up she would make it her mission to cut off that power but this seemed to be the time to just sit, wait and pray.

XXX

The men had taken thirty minutes or so to prepare themselves, making sure that they had the blueprints and new torches made with an uncovered lamp attached to a pole. These new torches were far safer and far more secure than the old ones. No longer would they drip fire, narrowly missing the holder's feet. They both had two bottles of back up oil and a weapon each. Arnic borrowed a baton from Tom and Hershel had his sword. They had fixed the sword, removing the protective cap so it was now lethal. They had also made sure it was as sharp as they could get it. He was now a lot more careful when sheathing and unsheathing the sword. Set with their equipment the scientist and the archaeologist descended into the depths of the tunnels below Mespil.

They were barely ten metres inside before they heard rushed footsteps behind them. It was Madigan! And he looked as if he'd been running. "Didn't forget about me, did ya?"

"Madigan, I don't-"

"I am coming Layton and there is no way you can stop me. Tom has some of the local men helping him. There are also two men guarding the entrance so no dufferins can come out that way. I have it all covered so I can come with you. I feel slightly responsible too, like I should have noticed before.. I want to help."

Arnic and Hershel shared a look but the decision ultimately fell on the Professor's shoulders. "All right, but, please be careful. I don't want to lose you."

The guard just grinned and drew his baton, ready to fight. The duo was now a trio and they moved swiftly through the tunnels. As Madigan was not holding a torch he was handed the blue prints with the instruction he was to lead them to every large room that he could spy on the map. There was only a handful but, truth be told, not one of them looked to be big enough! Space would be essential for the experiments and such that would be needed to perfect creating hybrids.

The first room was only fifteen minutes away but it was empty. No dufferins, no people, not even rats. It was interesting that the rats really had fled every single nook of this village. After double checking the room they moved on. Arnic tried his hardest to recognise any part of the tunnels but it all just looked so alike. It took them another ten minutes to get to the next room but they paused when they heard movement.

"That sounds like a dufferin's hiss. And that shuffling, that's the sound they make when moving slowly." Arnic's voice was hushed; they had all stopped walking to listen.

"I hear something else though. Is that a person?"

"It sounds like it, Madigan. It sounds like a person is in there with those things. Hershel?"

"I say we go in there." The Professor drew his sword, trying to keep the sound as minimal as possible.

Hershel led the way, Arnic just behind him, both with torches and weapons drawn. Madigan pulled up the rear having taken the time to fold up the blue prints and stow them safely away. He drew his baton. The room grew ever closer, the sound ever louder, finally they burst into the room.

A person sat against the furthest wall, a woman by the looks, her hands were bound behind her back, her clothes were dirty and she had a cloth bag over her head. Surrounding her were two hissing dufferins, one lying down about two feet from her whilst the other walked around. They were like guard dogs and were immediately at attention when the trio tried to enter.

It all happened in a flash, Madigan was first to move. He smacked the closest creature over the head with his baton and drew back for another blow but the Dufferin was out cold. Hershel leapt for the second, hoping to hit it before it had even gotten to its feet. He slashed with his sharpened sword and one fatal blow ended the creature's life. At least it was a quick and relatively painless death. He quickly stepped away from the remains and Madigan dropped his unconscious dufferin atop its deceased companion.

"Heavy buggers." He grunted.

Arnic was crouched before the woman and pulled the bag from her head. Beneath the bag she had a tie around her mouth through which she made muffled sounds. She burst out in thankful rambles when he untied it. "Oh Mr Shir, Madigan, thank you so much! I am so happy to see you! Who is this? Oh, I don't care! I just want to get out of here!"

The woman hadn't even looked at the dufferins, just the door. She really wanted out and Hershel couldn't blame her. She stood up with Arnic's help and he untied her hands and feet so she could move. Madigan gave her explicit directions so she could find her way back but Hershel stopped her before she rushed off.

"May I ask, who are you?"

"Oh! Yes, I am Clara, I run the fish stall in the market. Well, ran I suppose. It won't be up and running without me there! I don't know who you are but thank you for helping to save me." He knew she was itching to run but he needed to know more.

"There were four of you taken and we have recovered two. Where are the other two men?"

"I don't know. He had some sort of plan for them." The woman shuddered and when she met his eyes again she looked terrified. "You don't think they are dead, do you?"

"Not at all. We shall find them, never fear. Go, you find freedom. We will save the others." Hershel smiled slightly when she immediately did what he had suggested. She ran for the exit.

"Poor woman." Madigan sighed softly but Arnic noticed the thoughtful look on Hershel's face.

"What is it? What is bothering you so much?"

"I am trying to think of what Petyr would want with a fish stall owner? His choice in victims has bothered me ever since I received the letter asking for help." He knocked his hat back slightly so that he could scratch his head beneath, then he fixed the hat.

"Now's not the time fer thinking! It's the time fer action!" Madigan had already charged ahead, off to the next room. So they had no choice but to follow him.

It took another twenty minutes to get to the next room and by this time all they cared about was actually making sure they knew which way to go in accordance with the map. With their blueprints. They had taken so many left turns, so many rights; Hershel had no idea where they were in regards to Mespil anymore. Apparently the next room was just ahead of them now. But once again they were stopped by strange noises that sounded like a series of turning wheels and a sort of electrical crackling. It sounded quite terrifying but they had to investigate. Weapons at the ready they pushed the door open. The sight that greeted them was incredible.

There were three wheels that dominated the room, 2 of which were moving. But not under their own power. A man ran on the centre wheel, a dufferin on the wheel to his left. Heavy cables connected all three wheels to a large box which gave the only light in the room, the only lit room they had come across. It seemed the man and the dufferin were creating electricity! The poor man looked exhausted but he was without any restraints, oddly enough.

"Maurice!" The man stopped running and turned.

"Madigan!"

Unfortunately the sudden sound had caused the dufferin to stop also. It looked tired but more than ready for a fight even though it was outnumbered four to one. It hissed menacingly at Madigan but its mistake was taking its eyes off of Maurice. The exhausted man used the last of his strength to kick the creature, and kick it he did. The dufferin went flying through the air and smacked into the far wall. It fell to the ground, motionless. The man jumped off the wheel and ran into Madigan's arms. "Brother!"

Brother? His mind drifted back to his first conversation with Tonetta Merrin. _The gate guard's brother.._ So Madigan had an ulterior motive for wanting to come down here. Or at the very least another important reason to want to. Without a sibling of his own it was hard to imagine how Madigan must of been struggling. He was pleased they had at least found the man.

"I knew you'd find me, brother, I never doubted you!" The younger man was reluctant to release the guard who seemed all too happy to continue the embrace.

"As much as I hate to interrupt such a happy reunion, we have to keep moving." Arnic had been getting more visibly agitated over the past few minutes.

"Madigan, why don't you escort your brother out. We shall take it from here." Hershel was the softer of the two.

"But, what about the blueprints?"

"You take them. We can manage from here; we shall just follow the cables." He had noticed them disappear out the other side of the room, no doubt towards the place they were powering. He hadn't given much thought to escaping the tunnels once he had found Emmy again, he just wanted to get to her.

"Thank you, Professor!" Madigan wrapped an arm around his younger brother to support his movements.

"Professor?" He heard Maurice question as the two ambled off.

"We could have gotten information from him." Arnic had turned on him and he could see the strain in his features.

"We shall be fine. Let's just follow the cables and we shall find the main base of operations."

"But-" The lights went out. With no means of generating power it had eventually run out. "Well, this may be a problem.. No electricity could either alert him to our presence of make him angry.."

"Emmy.."


	20. The Final Battle

"No! No, no, no, no, no!" She could hear his shouts of anger before she saw him, she could have guessed how worked up he would be. The lights had just gone off and then the constant humming of machines had silenced. Something had happened to the power and Petyr was not happy about it. "My machines!"

He came storming out from behind a row of machines and she could just about make out his shape in the darkness. The rooms were almost completely pitch black but her eyes were slowly adjusting, just like they had done when she was tied up with Arnic. The dufferins were shuffling around and she could sense that they were uneasy in the darkness, probably not because of the darkness but because of the anger of their master. A loud bang signalled Petyr was taking his anger out on something but she couldn't be sure what.

"How am I supposed to work without any power? My machines can't run and I can't see a damn thing!"

Emmy tried not to look at him for fear that he might just take it out on her. He was pacing up and down just a few metres away from her; no doubt his eyes had adjusted by now. So far he had ignored her presence but when she shifted ever so slightly against the cold metal cabinet his head turned to her.

"This is your doing, isn't it? Maybe not yours personally but your little friends are catching up. But you won't live to see them; I have tired of this little game. You are no longer of any use to me." He growled and she heard him pick something up, something she couldn't identify. This couldn't be it; this could not be the way she died. She had so much to do, so much to live for!

XXX

They had been following the cable for 100 metres or so when they came to a large metal door. It looked somewhat like the one that had held the office they had found only it was far bigger. It must have been nine or ten feet high and almost as far wide. But seemingly unlocked. Their torches lit up the hallway and they were about to burst in when they suddenly heard voices within. It was muffled through the heavy metal but it was definitely a male voice inside. The voice was also shouting.

"That has to be Petyr. If it is dark in there we need to put these out and sneak in.." Arnic began by snubbing his own out and quietly placing it on the floor.

"Well, our ability to sneak in all depends on how much noise this door makes when we open it. But you're right, we should put these out." He followed suit and placed his extinguished torch on the ground.

The pair waited a moment to allow their eyes to adjust to the darkness then tried as quietly as possible to push the metal door open. They were right in their assumption that the door was unlocked and it mercifully stayed quiet as he opened it. They only gave themselves just enough room to slip inside then gently pushed it up once again. Now the voice was clear and Arnic nodded ever so slightly to confirm that it was Petyr.

The darkness around them was almost suffocating until their eyes fully adjusted. Now that he could see in the room he noticed a small bit of light filtering in about one hundred metres across the large room, it was coming from the ceiling. A grate in the road perhaps? The light barely reached the floor but it seemed to be highlighting a large machine the purpose of which was lost to him. No doubt it was part of the method for creating the dufferins. Their path was clear of any creatures or machines and they slowly made their way towards the voices.

"You are no longer of any use to me." Those few words filled him with dread, who on earth could be the one on the receiving end of such a comment? It was not them; could it be the final missing man? Or..

"Emmy!" He didn't care that he had shouted, there was no way he was going to let anybody else suffer under the hands of that madman.

"What the hell?!" A voice shouted in the darkness and he knew that it was Petyr.

"Hershel!"

"Emmy!" She was alive, that was good at least, but he couldn't see her and all he knew was that Petyr stood between them.

Hershel's heart dropped when he heard hurried footsteps beside him, the person was moving fast behind him and then the door creaked open. There was rushed movement on the other side. Arnic had left him alone. The man had seemed so eager to help and so confident and now he had just turned the coward and run away? He couldn't help but feel angry at him as well as betrayed. And now he was greatly outnumbered, there were a few Dufferins milling around the room that he could hear on both sides. He took in a deep breath and tightened his hold on his sword.

"Hershel Layton.." The voice in the darkness drawled. "Well, well, I should have expected that you would eventually come to my domain. But it seems you are all alone against my many creatures and I, whatever shall you do?"

"I don't care how many you have on your side, you will pay for the things you have done. And you will not hurt Emmy!" His emotions were getting the better of him but that was expected.

"Oh, won't I? And how do you know that I have not already?"

He heard her yelp but had no idea what he had done to her. "Emmy, are you alright?"

"Silence!" Petyr snapped and he heard her grunt accompanied with a heavy thud. "You won't be worrying about her when my dufferins have you in their grasps. Go, my little creatures, have fun."

It seemed that Petyr had the evil laugh down to a T but Hershel had far more pressing matters. The soft hissing of the dufferins had changed, it sounded that much more vicious. He could hear them moving around him and could only just about judge how far away they were. They were getting closer at the command from their Master but he couldn't tell who was closest in this dark space. He took a few steps backwards, his sword out in front of him just in case he came up against anything. The tip hit nothing. This darkness was causing him a great inconvenience and he felt seriously scared. In the next moment it was as if his prayers were answered.

The lights turned on.

"The lights?" Petyr questioned unsurely but Hershel knew exactly what was powering the lights. Or rather, who was powering the lights. The scientist was obviously not much of a fighter but was willing to help in any way he could.

Now that the room was lit he could see the dufferins, just in time to duck under one that had somehow found its way up to a higher level and was trying to jump on his back. The creature let out a cry of what he could only say was both surprise and pain. He spun around to confront one that was creeping up on him and slashed at the creature. He was rewarded with a yelp of pain and that single creature scurried back. The attack seemed to worry the others which were clearly quite intelligent animals. They looked around at each other and slowly started to back away from him.

"No! What are you doing?!" Petyr shouted angrily. "Get rid of him!"

The dufferins looked back at him, some turned around to do so, but every last one of them refused to obey his words. The slunk away into the shadows to avoid the sword wielding professor. Hershel allowed himself a small triumphant smile. "They do not wish to attack me."

"Well, if they won't, I shall have to do it myself!" As the dark haired man crossed the room he kicked an unfortunate dufferin that crossed his path, the creature scurrying away to hide.

"I do not wish to fight you, Petyr, you can just come with me and we can go back to the surface." He lowered his sword to show he meant his words but it seemed that the other man was having none of it.

"I am not going with you, Layton, you shall not ruin my plans. I will have my town and there is nothing you or anybody else can do about it!" Spit was flying from his lips as he got more and more aggravated with each word.

But he didn't come straight for him, no, for the man had no weapon. Instead he moved to one of the many banks of machines and leant behind it to grab something Hershel could not see until the man straightened once more. "Your little foil is no match for this, Layton."

Where Hershel held a sword based off of the medieval rapier his opponent had a proper sword, one with a flat blade and weighed multiple times what his did. He stood no chance at deflecting a blow from that thing. He swallowed hard and allowed his dark eyes to search the room for a weapon that would stand up better to the thick steel. The lights went out as both men lunged, the loudest sound being Emmy's shout.

"No!"

There was a loud scuffle and the occasional grunt but then the lights suddenly came on once more, it had been just a flicker from limited power. When the lights came back Hershel was standing with his back against the door, Petyr was several feet away. Both men were panting heavily but both were unharmed. Hershel's rapier lay on the ground between them, in his hand there was now a piece of metal piping which had rusted from its parent. Petyr still had his sword.

"You think you will get far with a piece of rusted metal?" That evil cackle reared its head once more.

He didn't answer him; he didn't want to feed this man. He just wanted out of these damned tunnels somewhere safe and sound with Emmy and Luke. He raised the pipe to defend his body and Petyr took it as a sign to move. He lunged for him again but this time the lights stayed on.

He leapt to the side and the heavy sword made a metallic clang as it collided with the metal cabinet beside him. The man let out a growl and spun for him, his sword stuck out in the hopes of catching him. Hershel gasped as the sharp tip of the sword caught his side, it appeared he wasn't as fast as he thought he was. He should have spent more time practising with Randall when he was younger.

The fight continued, Petyr chasing Hershel all around the area. Not once did the professor attack, all he did was try to deflect the blows aimed at him. He was only a few metres away from Emmy when the final blow hit him in the head, mercifully with the flat of the blade, knocking his hat from his head and his body to the ground. The pipe rolled away from his hand and he tried hard to push himself back to his feet but he was too disorientated. With a soft grunt he let his head rest back down and closed his eyes. Was this really how he was going to die?

"So, the great Hershel Layton who has yet to leave a puzzle unsolved will crack no more cases." Petyr jeered from over him, moving to hold the sword in both hands ready to execute him. "Goodbye, Professor Lay-"

Hershel was waiting for the final blow but it never came. Instead of the sharp steel ending his life there was a loud thud and a clatter of metal on the ground. He felt hands on his chest and dared to open his eyes.

"I think that's twice I have saved your life now.." Emmy's cheeks were stained with tears but she was smiling.

"I certainly owe you.." He chuckled lightly and pulled her down into his embrace.


	21. Finale

Hershel had never been so happy to be sitting down in a warm room before in his entire life. Emmy helped lower him into the armchair and hadn't left his side since. He was sure that if she wasn't so concerned about his wellbeing she would actually be sitting upon his lap, so great was her need to be around him after the whole incident. And he didn't want her far off either. She was sitting on a chair at his side whilst holding his hand.

"Hershel! We are so glad you are all right!" A female voice called loudly from the hall, the owner of the voice finally coming into view.

Tonetta Merrin looked like she had run through the town to come and find them; no doubt she had run all the way from her home down to the inn where they were currently seated. It had been the closest place to the exit they had used and Emmy was determined that Hershel was going to rest before anything else. Together they had dragged Petyr's unconscious form out of the sewers and handed him over to Madigan and Maurice who had also found their final missing person, the manager of the now missing fishery. Tonetta must have not bothered with her brother but come here instead.

The woman stopped in her tracks when she saw Emmy holding his hand but quickly she composed herself and crossed to his side. "We heard that you found him and brought him back.. Thank you so much for helping us!"

Hershel shook his head, smiling ever so slightly. "Do not just thank me. Also thank Emmy and-"

"Professor!"

"Luke!" The boy came racing in and flew himself on top of Hershel, the man hugging him tight. "I am glad to see you."

"You did it, Professor! The town is safe again! But, what happened? Everything that was going on.."

It was true, he hadn't told anybody yet how everything had worked. He had explained who it was but not anything else.

"Will you enlighten us all, Professor? Most people are up in my manor if you wish to come up there?" Tonetta gestured to the open door behind her. "We would all love to know what your fantastic mind has deduced."

It took them quite some time to climb the distance up to the Merrin home but once there he was immediately ushered into a chair. He was thankful for the seat and smiled at Emmy who was forever by his side. He had barely been sitting for a minute before Madigan came rushing over, Maurice and Tom not far behind him. The large guard hauled the archaeologist from his seat and embraced him in a giant bear hug.

"Thank you so much, Hershel Layton, for returning my brother to me." The man sounded so choked up and Hershel just patted him on the back.

"You do not need to thank me, I am just glad that I could help reunite the pair of you."

Eventually Madigan let go of him and shook his hand firmly, shaking his whole arm with the force. Then it was Maurice's turn to thank him and before he knew it, Hershel was being thanked by everybody present at the Manor. The fish stall clerk, the fishery manager, even by Anton the butler. He was somewhat overwhelmed but once everybody had had their time with him they all turned attentively to listen to his explanation.

"So, you are all here no doubt to hear about the issues that have been plaguing your town for the past while. As you all know, we captured the culprit Petyr Merrin below the streets of Mespil and have dealt with his dufferins so they shall never bother you again." A cheer sounded out around the room and a quick glance told him that a certain blonde scientist was missing.

"Petyr discovered he had no legitimate claim to this town and set out about taking it for himself in a way that nobody could argue with. We are all lucky that nobody got hurt and that we managed to recover those who had been kidnapped."

"Can you possibly tell us, why were people kidnapped?" It was Madigan who asked such a question and Hershel had been expecting at least one person to ask.

"Well, the whole issue of missing items, animals and people must be addressed from the very beginning. Starting with the missing objects, some more mundane but others I believe were the Merrin's silverware? Well all of these objects were used by Petyr to craft his many marvellous machines. Although quite evil, he has proved himself to be a genius, creating machines capable of producing genetically manufactured monsters from just objects found in this village."

Perhaps his appreciation of the man's abilities would be taken the wrong way but nobody voiced their opinions so he continued his explanation.

"I am afraid that your animals have a more sinister fate. Those who were not taken by the dufferin have probably fled the village. Have faith, those who survive shall probably return within a week or more." This statement in face turned out to be true, almost every single cat and dog that had once lived in the village that had not already left returned within ten days.

"But the choice in people was very interesting, in fact quite logical if one thinks on it for much time. The fish stall clerk was first to go.." A hiccough sounded from the woman in question. "She was taken because of her job, in fact. If Petyr had discovered a way to manufacture his creatures and they had been taking the local animals to eat he had to find a way to feed them all. He couldn't do so in the long term but settled for the short, raiding this young lady's store of fish. It is my guess that she caught him trying to take all of the fish and for that reason he had to take her down into the sewers with him to cover his identity."

"That's right." She sniffed. "He tried to take them all but I found him rummaging through the boxes I had prepared for the next morning.. He had kept me down there ever since. Until they found me."

Hershel smiled reassuringly at the woman, just glad that she was now safe. "Next to be taken was Maurice. Now this choice probably coincided with Petyr's decision to make more of the creatures. To do so he would need more power and to make the power he was using he needed somebody to run on a wheel. Dufferins only have short legs and are not designed for endurance so probably couldn't last long on the wheels. His only choice was to take a young, fit person from the village and Maurice here fit right into his criteria."

"I tell you what, I will be happy to never have to run again in my life!" The guard laughed, as did the little girl who was contently cuddled into her Father's chest.

"Next was the fishery manager, sir, it is good to see you came out in one piece." He inclined his head to the man who he had yet to meet. "Also, I am sorry that your building has gone in its entirety."

"Professor, how did that happen?" Luke had turned to look at him.

"Very good question. Well, to explain the disappearance first, the manager was also taken to provide a supply of fish to the dufferins that were being created. However, the fishery itseld was where the fish was stored and Petyr needed to get into this store on a regular basis. So he dug out beneath it and created a passage. This destabilized the foundations of the building, causing it to collapse through the tunnel he had crafted into a cavern below which in turn filled with water. This water allowed the dufferins access to the surface where we were all congregated."

"What about Arnic Shir?" A voice called and he was unaware of who exactly asked him. "Why isn't he here, I thought he got out?"

Hershel turned and took Emmy's hand so everybody was aware he was talking of her. "My assistant, Emmy Altava managed to rescue Arnic Shir after she herself was taken, risking her own life in the process."

He brought her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles causing a murmur to spread amongst those who were present. He realised that this would be the first time Luke would have any real indication of anything between them but he could not hide it from the boy for much longer.

"Where is Arnic Shir now?"

"I.." Hershel frowned slightly and looked around. He had noticed the lack of his presence before and now that it was pointed out he truly had no idea where the man was. "I am not entirely sure."

"No doubt he is fine, in his lab somewhere." Emmy quickly brushed it off, clearly confident in the scientist. "The important thing is that everything is over and has been explained. Petyr will be dealt with?"

"Yes, we have him locked up for now and then he shall be transported to London for processing as we received word that a certain Inspector Grosky wants to see him." Madigan seemed completely unaware of the name but Hershel, Emmy and Luke all laughed.

"Hardly surprising. At least he shall be dealt with somewhere away from this village. He shouldn't be allowed anywhere near it for the rest of his days."

"And I shall make sure that he does not, Professor. My brother shall never harm these people again."

Hershel's eyes drifted over to Tonetta who seemed to have caught hold of her wits again after her previous upset. She was back to being the woman he had first met, very much concerned for her village but firmly in control of it. He had no doubt that these people would be fine from now on. But before another thought could enter his mind there were several screams from outside.

"What the-" Madigan was first out of the doors, quickly followed by Hershel and Emmy. Everybody else started to filter out behind them to form a circle.

Hershel almost laughed out loud at the sight which greeted him. "Arnic Shir, you mad man!"

The scientist was grinning as he climbed the hill towards them, looking grubby and tired but very much alive and amused. And behind him trailed the most extraordinary thing. A dufferin! Only this one was not like the others. The creature was a pale blue colour and somewhat overweight, waddling behind the scientist with her tongue hanging out of her mouth like some sort of pet! Like a dog!

"You have a friend, it seems!" Hershel strode forward and greeted the man, the dufferin coming to a stop just behind him.

"Indeed. I found her when I was escaping, at least I think it is a she, I haven't had much chance to check. She was hiding in one of the rooms. I think she was just left there because she is too heavy, too fat. She was attached to me instantly and I couldn't just leave her there to die."

"So she is to become your pet?" He questioned, crouching to look at the creature.

The dufferin just looked back at him, her head tilted to the side slightly. It was almost as if she were panting from the effort of climbing this hill.

"Why not? She hasn't tried to attack me nor shown any malice to those I have passed on the way here. Although they were afraid of her.."

"Does she have a name?"

"Not yet.. I hadn't thought of one." The scientist laughed and leant down to touch the dufferin's head.

"Can I.. Make a suggestion?" Luke had stepped forwards, ever eager to interact with animals. "Why not call her Zilla?"

The dufferin looked up at the boy in his blue hat and shuffled towards him. Almost every person that had congregated took a step back but Hershel watched in interest as the creature approached Luke. The boy didn't flinch, much to his surprise, instead crouching down to touch her head. Zilla almost looked like she was enjoying the touch, leaning her head into it like a cat would.

"Zilla it is, thank you, my boy." Arnic was immediately assaulted by his eager assistant who clung to him happily. Emmy walked up and slipped her arm around Hershel.

"I think it is time we had a peaceful night's rest and head back to London." She whispered beside his ear.

XXX

"I can never thank you enough, Hershel. You have saved my village and brought peace to us all again.."

The following morning Emmy and Luke were packing the car when Tonetta had suddenly appeared and requested to speak with Hershel. Of course he had obliged and gone with her just a small distance away.

"You do not need to keep thanking me, Ms. Merrin. I am just pleased that I was able to help."

"You have no.. No idea how much this means to all of us." She looked down at her hands which were clasped in front of her. "To me."

Hershel reached out and gently touched her arm. "Just make sure you take care of them all.. You are a good leader and I know this town will flourish again under your care. Don't let this get you down."

The woman lifted her head and smiled briefly at him. Before he knew it she had closed the gap and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "I shall miss you, Hershel Layton."

Her voice had been barely a whisper and she suddenly turned and walked away from him. "I hope you have a good trip back! Take care!"

Hershel was a bit stunned but nonetheless turned to the Laytonmobile ready to leave. They had said their goodbyes to Arnic, Rikka and Madigan the previous night so there was nothing really left to do but go home. When he turned back to the car he found Emmy looking at him.

"She fancies you, you know." She said softly, a smile on her face.

"She does?" He questioned, looking over his shoulder to look at Ms. Merrin's retreating back. "Hmm.."

"Are you honestly telling me.." She came up to him and wrapped her arms around him. "That the great Hershel Layton failed to see what was right before his very nose?"

"I failed to see your interest in me also, in case you have forgotten." He wrapped his arms around her in return.

"Ah yes, very good point. _Professor._" She stood up on her tippy toes to kiss him but their lips did not yet meet.

"Come on! It's time to go!"

The pair laughed and Emmy buried her face against his shoulder. "It seems letting Luke know has given us no more time together. I swear, it has become his personal mission to try and stop every moment we have together."

"Oh, let him be. We will have plenty of time together soon enough." She kissed the underside of his jaw and left him with that promise.

"Well then.. We had better get back to London."

* * *

_It is done! Lady in Yellow is finished and I hope that you all enjoyed it. I know I enjoyed writing it and also enjoyed reading your reviews. It has been a wonderful eleven months writing this story and I cannot express how much I shall miss it. So, look out on the horizon because, in the style of the Layton games themselves.._

_TO BE CONTINUED.. _


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